Texas is the largest proponent of fossil fuel production. Although oil and gas extraction is one of the deadliest jobs in the country, and those jobs are in decline, the chance to strike it rich by digging a hole in the ground and finding liquid gold continues to lure workers and investors to the Lone Star state.
Love it or hate it, what happens on those oil fields, and in the homes of those who work them, make for compelling material for a TV drama. From 1978 to1991, we followed the exploits of J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, who ruled over an oil empire and fought off rivals. Despite critics who denigrated Dallas’ soap opera like quality, the show consistently won its time slot and invented the “cliffhanger” that had fans debating possible endings. The November 21,1980 episode that revealed “Who shot J.R.?” racked up between 83 and 86 million viewers.
Landman is no Dallas, but the public’s fascination with the oil industry has not faded. The brainchild of Taylor Sheridan, who also created the popular Yellowstone, Landman doesn’t pull punches showing the dangers involved in pumping oil. The very first episode in season one includes an explosion that kills three workers. A subsequent episode has a manager buried under tons of pipes.
What makes Landman so watchable are the actors. Billy Bob Thornton, perhaps the most underrated actor of his generation, creates a character we can root for. Tommy Norris, working in one of the most cutthroat industries, hasn’t lost his heart. As the landman for M-Tex Oil, Tommy serves as a liaison between energy companies and the landowners to secure land rights for exploration and production. But he’s often found cleaning up the messes created by others. In the series premiere, an M-Tex plane stolen by the cartel ends up landing on a highway, crashing into a semi carrying fuel, creating an Armageddon-like explosion. Seems the cartel often helps itself to planes and trucks to move drugs, but in this instance, the leaders blame Tommy and want to be reimbursed for their loss. When Tommy balks, his workers are threatened and further confrontations with the cartel are inevitable.
Jon Hamm as Monty Miller (Photo credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Tommy is the polar opposite of his boss, Monty Miller, played by Jon Hamm. There are similarities to another character Hamm played, Mad Man’s Don Draper. Like Draper, Monty is the epitome of a CEO, attired in bespoke suits, living in a mansion with a beautiful wife, Cami (Demi Moore). He’s admired as a genius, but like Draper, his success is a series of smoke and mirrors. When he dies after a heart attack at the end of season one, he leaves behind a financial and political morass for his wife, Cami (Demi Moore), to handle.
Demi Moore as Cami (Photo Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Despite his gruff exterior, Tommy has a soft spot for his family. He’s clear-eyed about the dangers of working in the fields and tries to discourage his son, Cooper (Jacob Lofland), from following in his footsteps. Lofland’s performance stands out. He has Tommy’s heart but none of his toughness. Eager to achieve his goal of running an oil company, he drops out of college where he was majoring in engineering, and goes to work in the fields where he can learn the business from the bottom up. Newcomers on crews are called “worms” and, despite the respect workers have for Tommy, they resent Cooper. On his first day, a well explodes and Cooper, who was sent back to the truck for a screwdriver, is the only survivor.
Jacob Lofland as Cooper and Paulina Chavez as Ariana (Photo Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Consumed with grief, Cooper shows up at the home where the dead workers lived. The male relatives get physical and tell him to leave. But the wife and mother of two of the workers, invites him in and offers him food. He’s seated next to single mother Ariana (Paulina Chávez), whose husband, Elvio, was killed. Days later, Ariana, unable to cope with her loss, asks Cooper for help. He comes over, cuts her lawn and does other chores around the house. The attraction between the two strikes like lightning, but Cooper will pay the price when Elvio’s friends brutally attack him. In Texas, there’s justice and then there’s oil justice. Tommy calls the sheriff and soon the guilty parties are rounded up and dispensed with.
Kayla Wallace as Rebecca (Photo Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Tommy’s life become more complicated when Monty brings another lawyer on board to handle M-Tex’s issues. Rebecca (Kayla Wallace), knows nothing about the oil industry but she’s a shark and is skilled at cornering the opposition. Tasked with settling with the families of the workers who died in the explosion, she’s determined to have them sign off on $250,000 each. But Cooper, now living with Ariana, intervenes and soon M-Tex has to pay the three families one million each. While Monty is upset, Tommy – soft hearted again – believes the company needs to take care of its workers and their families.
Ali Larter as Angela Norris (Photo credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Landman’s violence is broken up with scenes featuring Tommy’s ex-wife, Angela (a marvelous Ali Larter), and daughter, Ainsley (Michelle Randolph). The two may be dismissed as cliches of the pampered women who enjoy the riches generated by the oil industry. But like Tommy, Angela and Ainsley care not only about family, but about others. Driving home after an intense gym workout, Angela spies a home for senior citizens and suggests that she and Ainsley visit. Inside, she’s appalled by the lack of activities provided for the elderly who live out their days staring into space. She goes shopping and comes back with games, party favors, and enough tequila to fuel a rave. The old people love it and soon Angela and Ainsley become the facility’s unofficial event planners with outings to a bowling alley, casino, and strip club where Ainsley’s boyfriend, Ryan (Mitchell Slaggert, a former Calvin Klein/Versace model) delights the women by gyrating around in a jockstrap. Angela’s concern for the elderly extends to Tommy’s father, who has also been living in a drab senior facility. Though he and Tommy have never gotten along, he gives in to Angela and has T.L. (Sam Elliott) move in with them.
Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris and Michelle Randolph as Ainsley Norris (Photo Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
Although Angela has just come for a visit, she soon decides to leave her second husband and live once again with Tommy. Their relationship is never easy, but Tommy is unable to resist, especially when it comes to sex. She soon redecorates Tommy’s home, which he has been sharing with his assistant and friend, Dale (James Jordan) and M-Tex’s lawyer, Nathan (Colm Feore). Having the two women parade around in bikinis is a distraction Nathan doesn’t need. Considering herself a gourmet cook, Angela is soon gathering everyone for meals that reject chicken fried steak for fettuccine with Bolognese sauce, paella, and pasta with truffles. Tommy erupts when he finds out the mushroom like truffle cost $189.
Off the fields, the action happens at the Patch Cafe, a watering hole where people gather, no matter their socio-comic status. Tommy, an alcoholic, provides the show’s product placement with a Michelob Ultra always in his hand. (He claims the beer has no alcohol.) The women working there often have to put up with passes made by men who have had too much to drink. But when a well strikes, the tips might make up for the hassle. The hangout is ruled over by Ellie played by the effervescent Robyn Lively, who acts like another hen to the young women and keeps the men in line – mostly.
Andy Garcia as Gallino (Photo Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+)
At the end of season one, Tommy faces certain death by the cartel when Gallino (Andy Garcia), who really runs the drug operation rescues him. Garcia (where has he been!) plays the cartel mob boss for all it’s worth. Although he gets his money from drugs, he has constructed a company that looks legit. And, by the end of season two, he manages to coax Cami into making a deal, much to Tommy’s despair.
Many ongoing plot lines should make Landman’s season three great viewing. Cooper and Ariana are planning to marry. Rebecca ditched her elite attitude and risked being fired after having an affair with an M-Tex employee, Charlie Newsom (Guy Burnet) a geologist. He’s been tasked with finding oil offshore to save the company, an almost impossible and dangerous job. Cami will have to save her company without getting dragged down by the cartel. Tommy and Angela will get married – again – while he helps Cooper get his wildcat business off the ground.
There will be plenty of action, new characters, more cowboy hats, and plots line to keep on the edge of our seats. As they say, don’t mess with Texas.
Top: Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy in Landman episode 9, season 2, streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+
