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Tommy Norris and his son Cooper depart a man camp in the Paramount+ series Landman.
Photo Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+
If you’ve followed the Paramount Plus dramatic series Landman through two seasons now, I imagine you’ve begun to think of the characters as family. Dysfunctional family, to be sure, but family.
The steady character development within the show is giving the series traction, and that’s good for the Permian Basin. While not everyone delights in the show, the exposure that our region and industry are getting from the series is demystifying the Permian for the outside world, making Landman a PR triumph for our side. It’s a windfall that the region’s defenders could never have pulled off, much less seen coming.
As I type these words, I’ve seen every Season 2 episode but the cliffhanger, so I’m flying blind on how Season 2 ends, but we’ll return to this topic next month and wrap this wrapup up.
Here’s what Google’s AI mode has to say:“Landman is performing strongly in viewership, breaking records for Paramount+ with millions of streams for its Season 2 premiere. Audience reception is mixed, with many viewers critical of the storylines and character development for Angela [Ali Larter] and Ainsley [Michelle Randolph], despite strong performances from lead Billy Bob Thornton and some critical praise for the show’s writing and world.”
Every character is unique. Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) is crude, foul-mouthed, and resourceful. Angela Norris is crude, foul-mouthed, and spontaneous. Cami Miller (Demi Moore) is crude, foul-mouthed, and unpredictable. And so on.
Sam Elliott is the most important addition to the cast in Season 2. He arrives as the estranged father of Tommy Norris.
Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+
A phone call between Ainsley and Tommy says everything about Landman:
Ainsley: “Hi Daddy—whatcha doin’?”
Tommy: “Driving to my next calamity.”
When the show turns from talk to action, the most powerful moments emerge. Episode 3 opens with a hog hunt that encounters an H2S leak on an M-Tex lease—with calamity ensuing. But even the dialogue-only scenes can be intriguing—especially the exchanges between Tommy and his disreputable would-be backer Danny Morrell (Andy Garcia).
Episode 6 includes four minutes of M-Tex crew members touring the 2025 Permian Basin International Oil Show, a scene that kicks off with PBIOS’s actual opening ceremony, wherein PBPA’s President, our own Ben Shepperd, can be glimpsed wielding the ribbon cutting scissors.
Episode 7 delivers a scene that could resonate with some. A backyard barbecue event honors an M-Tex employee (“Boss” is his nickname) for 20 years’ service to the company. This occasion follows closely on the tragedy that was the H2S leak—a crisis that caused no small suffering for Boss himself. He is presented with a Rolex watch. Then comes this exchange:
In Season 2, Cami Miller, wife of the suddenly deceased Monty Miller, becomes head of M-Tex Oil.
Credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+
Boss: “Think of all the ways this job can kill you. The busts. The man camps. Hell, we stayed in tents when we were drilling in Oklahoma. Outrunning tornadoes. Blowouts. I’m shocked I’m still here, man.”
Dale: “Yeah, yeah, but, uh, it put a daughter through college, didn’t it? Nice house for that pretty wife that don’t have to work.”
Boss: “Yeah, I know that, Dale, but I just don’t think I have 20 more in me. Hell, I ain’t got TWO more in me. Been feedin’ that 401K like a huntin’ dog! [laughter]
Dale: That’s the trick, ain’t it. Take what you can from this place and then GET OUT. Get the [expletive] out.”
Against that grimness and pessimism, there are moments of irrepressible optimism. What else is there? Lots of smoking outdoors and indoors. Lots of drinking and lots of driving and then there’s some drinking while driving. Plenty of bad taste, red dirt music, dust, pain, celebration, hardship, humor, and pathos.
Sam Elliott, in his 80s, is doing some of the best acting of his life. His character, T.L. Norris, is a more vulnerable Elliott than most will have ever seen. The scenes of Elliott and Thornton together are real treats.
This show humanizes the Basin in ways that no other messaging could ever accomplish. The M-Tex tribe might dismay some oilfield observers and delight others, but for the sake of the Basin’s badly needed visibility, let their tribe increase.
Jesse Mullins, Editor
Jesse Mullins is editor of Permian Basin Oil and Gas.
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