What you need to know about ‘Landman,’ Taylor Sheridan’s new gritty Texas oil industry show
By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
(CNN) — Taylor Sheridan’s hit western series “Yellowstone” may soon be coming to an end, but the producer’s latest offering “Landman” might just be the show to fill that void.
“Landman” stars Billy Bob Thornton and chronicles the gritty tale of the dangerous oil business in the boomtowns of West Texas. It is based on the “Boomtown” podcast, which covered the Permian Basin’s historic oil boom.
The first two episodes of the series debuted on Paramount+ on Sunday. Here’s what else you need to know.
Who stars in it?
Billy Bob Thornton leads the ensemble cast playing Tommy Norris, the rugged and unabashed oil company executive tasked with securing land and mineral rights so that the oil continues to flow. Jon Hamm plays his boss Monty Miller.
Ali Larter plays Angela Norris, Tommy’s wife and Demi Moore plays Hamm’s wife Cami. Andy Garcia and Michael Peña will serve as guest stars. “Yellowstone” fans may recognize James Jordan, who appeared on the series as a guest star between 2019 and 2022. “1923” star Michelle Randolph rounds out the ensemble cast.
What is it about?
The series will follow Norris as he secures land in the boomtowns of West Texas, with the billion-dollar oil and gas industry serving as the backdrop for the series.
With so much money at the center of this tale, the stakes are always high and the danger acute in this “upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics,” according to a synopsis.
Is it based on a true story?
Sheridan co-created the series with Texas-based journalist and screenwriter Christian Wallace, who hosted Texas Monthly’s “Boomtown” podcast released in 2019 that chronicled the real-life oil boom in the Permian Basin at the time and is what inspired the premise of “Landman.”
At the time, fracking turned the Permian Basin into one of the most fruitful oil fields in the world, with the economic boom disrupting what was once a quiet part of West Texas.
In an interview with the Daily Beast published Sunday, Thornton says the series presents “a look inside that world” and what the people living in it may have experienced.
“What this show is really about is the relationships and how people are affected. People who work within the oil industry and then their immediate family and extended family—how it affects all these people and how it affects you,” he added.
Where can I watch it?
The first two episodes are now available to stream on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering Sundays.
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