Landman Series Premiere Review: The Rough World of Oil, Family Drama, and Survival

Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

Taylor Sheridan has done it again. His new series Landman on Paramount+ drops viewers right into the rough, risky world of Texas oil, as only Sheridan can.

To be clear, critics will not love this show. Just as they have overlooked other Sheridan works like Yellowstone and Tulsa King, they will downplay Landman’s entertainment value and the messaging within it. Don’t let that stop you from taking this ride.

In the first two episodes, we meet Tommy, played to the hilt by Billy Bob Thornton. Tommy knows the oil business inside out and isn’t afraid to use that knowledge to get what he wants.

Landman Season 1 Episode 1 wastes no time getting into the action. Tommy deals with everything from drug traffickers to family drama. It’s a world where money and power rule; Landman reveals the cost of getting to the top.

Right from the start, Tommy is in a sticky situation. He’s kidnapped and held by a group of men, but instead of panicking, he stays cool, rattling off facts about the oil industry and dropping names like Halliburton to intimidate his captors.

That scene may not have rattled him, but it did me. That’s what made his handling of it so interesting.

He’s got guts and knows how to use his words to keep himself safe. Later, he negotiates with a rancher by offering a solar lease to solve a problem, which shows he’s a man of few words who cuts right to the chase.

Apparently, this is just another day on the job for Tommy Norris, and it helps us immediately understand his world and how he operates within it. It also reinforces that this isn’t a job for just anybody. It commands respect from the rig on up.

Tommy’s quick thinking and no-nonsense attitude show just how tough and clever he is in this business, and they give us a good starting point for getting to know the man.

A rather reserved Jon Hamm plays Monty Miller, who seems to represent the old guard of the oil industry. However, his cool demeanor should not fool you.

His commanding presence doesn’t necessarily mark indifference from the hands-on struggle of guys like Tommy. Trust fund or not, boss or employee, Monty and Tommy are old friends.

In one scene, Monty orders Tommy around with an air of entitlement, which is interesting given their lengthy history. What has happened between them in the years they’ve been in business together?

This power dynamic creates tension that sharpens their interactions, highlighting the gap between those who were born into power and those who fight for it.

Monty’s family life also reflects his cold, calculating side. While he’s focused on business, his family seems out of the loop, unaware of the risks and challenges he faces in keeping his empire intact.

By the end of Landman Season 1 Episode 2, he makes it clear that he’ll do whatever it takes to protect his legacy, even if that means keeping secrets from those closest to him.

This dynamic gives viewers a peek into the price of privilege — Monty has wealth and power, but he’s isolated, relying on control rather than connection.

It’ll be interesting to see if Monty’s family becomes more involved or if his focus on legacy keeps him from building real relationships with them.

Through five episodes of the series, I can tell you that Demi Moore is criminally underutilized. She’s window dressing for Landman as she is for Hamm, and it’s devastating.

My initial thoughts about Tommy and Monty, though, are that their relationship isn’t what it seems on the surface. Only time will tell if that’s their reality. Tommy wouldn’t let just any man talk to him like Monty does.

One of Tommy’s best relationships is with his daughter, Ainsley (Michelle Randolph). Even with all the chaos, Tommy finds time to be Ainsley’s dad. Their relationship is a mix of tough love and honesty, which feels both relatable and unique.

When Ainsley opens up to him about her boyfriend, Dakota, Tommy reacts like any protective father. Like any other dad, what she says shouldn’t be for his ears, but he listens and tries to keep things real.

He’s a father, and he knows exactly what having a daughter as beautiful as Ainsley means. But he’s also susceptible to her charms, as we see when he literally throws away french fries simply because she wills it. He will do anything to keep her happy.

There’s a touching scene where Tommy holds Ainsley while she’s upset, saying, “Why am I always right? Because I spent my whole life being wrong.”

It’s a great line that shows he’s learned a lot from his mistakes and will do what he can to ensure his daughter learns from hers, too.

A luminous Ali Larter plays Angela, Tommy’s ex-wife, and their relationship promises to bring more layers of drama and excitement to the show.

Angela and Tommy have a history that’s clearly filled with both love and tension. Angela makes no bones about missing Tommy and wanting to keep her hands on him despite her new marriage.

That’s on full display when she gets all dolled up for a video call just to remind him of what he’s missing, teasing him with an attitude that’s playful but has an edge.

There’s still a crackling connection between them, but it’s tangled up with years of conflict and unspoken feelings.

Their conversations certainly show that they’re both stubborn. They also remind us that although they’re no longer together, they still understand each other in a way that only comes from that kind of shared history. Tommy’s feelings for Angela are complicated.

He loves her, but he knows that together, they’re somewhat tragic. He laughs while admitting to Ainsley he’d marry her mother again if she’d “stop talking,” hinting that their deep bond has been worn down by time and differences but remains unbroken and perhaps unsettled.

Their scenes together are a great balance of humor and sexual tension, reminding us that sometimes love doesn’t go away, even when the relationship itself is over. When she eventually shows up in Midland, expect sparks to fly.

The oil business isn’t just about money; it’s dangerous work. We see this firsthand when a rig explosion nearly kills Cooper, Tommy and Angela’s son, who has dropped out of college to learn the business, much to his parents’ dismay.

Cooper’s inability to locate the right tool for a job actually saves him, but it’s a scary introduction to just how risky the job is. What makes this scene particularly startling is that Sheridan invested time in the characters before obliterating them on screen.

It was a shocking scene that perfectly shows the reality of working in “the patch,” where workers put their lives on the line for high pay.

Heartbreaking scenes like this invest you in the realities of this unknown world that is fully immersed in our everyday lives. Considering its influences on our society, it’s very hard work, and Landman makes that clear in a very real way.

It also shows, in a roundabout way, the deep affection Tommy and Angela have for their kids. They try to steer them right, but they also allow them to make their own decisions. It can’t be easy knowing Cooper will be putting his life on the line daily.

Tommy’s warning that Cooper’s rough start, which resulted in the deaths of three beloved crew members, won’t make him popular among the others seems like an understatement.

On Landman, wealth and success aren’t just handed out — people fight for them.

It’s apparent in the differences between characters like Tommy and Monty, as well as in Cooper, who has ambitions to climb to the top by learning the business from the ground up. His aspirations may come with a price.

Tommy quickly reminds Cooper (Jacob Lofland) that it takes more than dreams to make it big; it takes grit and sacrifice. Different backgrounds shape each man’s path in the oil world, and one misstep makes a significant impact.

If Cooper wants to become Monty, he’s got a lot of work ahead of him — if another crew will even accept his presence on the job.

Tommy’s job forces him to make tough choices. The answers aren’t always right or wrong, black or white; instead, there are shades of gray and murky waters to navigate.

After the rig explosion, Tommy immediately thought of how to support the families of those who had been killed. It shows his keen sense of responsibility to the people under his management, but it was also a move to prevent the tragedy from causing legal problems for his M-Tex.

Tommy is like corporate HR, which is a balancing act between supporting the people who work for an organization and the people who run it. It’s not an easy job.

Tommy’s moral compass is more practical than principled. He knows that survival in his line of work depends on compromises.

Tommy is more than just a tough guy in the oil business, but sometimes, being tough is all he’s got to hold onto.

I expect Landman to be another hit for Taylor Sheridan.

It fits seamlessly into Taylor Sheridan’s world, where family loyalty and the pursuit of power are as essential — and often as dangerous — as the land itself.

Like Yellowstone and 1883, Landman plays with the gritty, high-stakes lives of people deeply connected to their work and the landscape around them.

Tommy’s complex relationship with Ainsley echoes Sheridan’s recurring theme of family bonds being tested by ambition, pride, and personal mistakes.

It’s not hard to imagine John Dutton having the same conversations with Beth in her teen years, even if life forced Beth to grow up much faster than Ainsley has had to do.

The clash between self-made strivers like Tommy and wealthy figures like Monty plays into Sheridan’s fascination with the power dynamics that shape not only families but entire communities.

Through these characters, Landman offers a raw exploration of survival and legacy in an unforgiving world and the lengths people will go to protect what’s theirs — or take what isn’t.

That rawness is tempered by a comedic vein we’ve seen in Sheridan’s other shows, but never to this degree. The harsher the climate, the more you rely on humor to get you through the day.

Rather than pulling us away from the characters, that human reaction to make light of dark times adds to the realness of these characters. They work hard, make mistakes, and sometimes pay a high price for success, but they don’t let it stop them in their tracks.

This look at power, family, and survival doesn’t sugarcoat the costs of living in a world fueled by oil, but it doesn’t drown us in it, either.

And finally, the casting is spot on. I can’t think of a single Sheridan show that has made even one casting mistake, which is a huge compliment to the people in his orbit. Choosing the right actors fuels our enjoyment and, like the oil business the show portrays, fully immerses us in the lives of the characters.

What did you think about the Landman series premiere? Did you recognize the familiar Sheridan themes? Share your thoughts about the introduction to this world in the comments below!

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