Billy Bob Thornton is the chosen one to lead Taylor Sheridan‘s latest examination of Americana in Landman, the high-stakes family drama set in and around the oil and gas industry of West Texas. Inspired by the Boomtown podcast (created by journalist Christian Wallace), the show follows everyday folks who are living and working in the area as they attempt to hit the jackpot and strike lucky in the Permian Basin, which is known as the highest-yielding oil field in the United States. Thornton, who had previously worked with Sheridan on the Yellowstone prequel, 1883, was approached by the writing and producing guru at the premiere of 1883 with a proposition.
“He said he had something that he was writing, a thing for me, and we would talk about it later,” Thornton told Entertainment Weekly, who have published new, exclusive first-look images of the series. “I believe it was at the premiere of 1883 in Las Vegas when he said, ‘Okay, here’s the deal. It’s called Landman. It’s about this.’”
What Is ‘Landman’ About?
Thornton plays the character of Tommy Norris, a man with no time for bullsh*t whose job is straightforward: oversee and protect an oil patch for Monty Miller (Jon Hamm), his boss and close friend. But that responsibility has isolated Tommy from his family, including his ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter), daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) and son Cooper (Jacob Lofland).
Thornton said:
“The oil business… it’s a job where your time is very limited with the people around you, your friends, your family. And so part of this show is about that struggle to be a father and desperately wanting to be, but having a lot of trouble doing it well. We also see the dark side of Tommy, sometimes. The part that’s like, ‘If you’re going to work in this business, there’s certain things you have to do. And here’s some of them.’ The oil business is not a bunch of guys wearing white button-up shirts with bow ties, saying, ‘Can I fill her up, ma’am?’ It’s a different world.”
For Wallace, the man whose idea started this whole thing, he hopes that the hard-working individuals who have given their lives to this are appreciated more now, given how little is known about what they do. “For better or for worse, our world runs on this stuff and, until we have another alternative, somebody has to do the dirty work. And I think that the people who do it deserve some credit and I think that is something that this show will do.”
Landman premieres Sunday, November 17, on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on the series, and everything else from the pen of Taylor Sheridan, including our extensive coverage of the final season of Yellowstone.
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