There are lines in “Landman” that will make you forget “Yellowstone.”
Focusing his attention on the oil business in west Texas, uber-producer Taylor Sheridan has created a “Dallas” that tells more than J.R. Ewing ever would.
It’s down and dirty, capable of explaining why world leaders are skeptical of things like green energy. It’s also quite funny – and just the place for someone like Billy Bob Thornton.
Billy Bob Thornton and Ali Larter star in "Landman," streaming on Paramount+. Landman streaming on Paramount+.
The Oscar winner plays Tommy Norris, a troubleshooter for an oil baron. He’s a “divorced alcoholic with $500,000 in debt” who has two teenage children, a clingy ex (Ali Larter) and more trouble in the field than half the characters in “Giant.”
When drug cartels come knocking, he’s the one at the door. When a pumper blows, he’s the one to deal with the fallout.
When a finger is injured during a fire, Norris doesn’t head into surgery, he cuts off the tip rather than endure a string of doctors' appointments.
He’s tough – and the series is, too. It shows the lux life that Monty Miller (Jon Hamm) and his wife Cami (Demi Moore) enjoy. But it also drops in on the workers who help fund those toys. It’s a world of haves and have nots.
Billy Bob Thornton plays an oil man in "Landman, a new Paramount+ series.
When that ex – Angela – returns to check on her daughter (Michelle Randolph) and son (Jacob Lofland), it’s not hard to see where their wanton ways were nurtured.
Larter gets a handful of her own great lines throughout the series (“No woman who can do the splits can be trusted,” she contends) and isn’t afraid to turn on the charm to meet her goals.
The Norrises’ daughter is cut from similar cloth (“she hasn’t heard ‘no’ since she was 8,” dad says) and isn’t afraid to reveal lots of skin. She and mom have fun at a country club and get plenty of attention from every man they meet.
Son Cooper, however, wants to fit in with the others on his shift. He meets resistance immediately and tries to make nice with co-workers who have no intention of becoming friends. Lofland has a heartbreaking way of starting a conversation and could be the only family member with a true strain of compassion.
“Landman,” however, isn’t just interested in one family. It corrals several and isn’t afraid to show how wild this version of the West really is. A drive-up coffee shop is run by women who know what sells. Unlike some of the buttoned-up corporate types Norris later encounters, these are smart women with proven meet-and-greet skills.
Sheridan gets into plenty about the divide facing our country and never fails to entertain. Just when you think “Landman” is headed down some wonky gravel road, it veers and gives you more insight into the men who work the rigs and the women who benefit.
Better than “Goliath," “Landman” lets Thornton convey the emotions that color a “cigarettes and Dr Pepper” kind of guy. The role fits better than a well-worn pair of jeans and, like his trusty boots, never lets him down.
He’s one of the best actors of the season in a show that could be one of the best of this or any year.
"Landman" airs on Paramount+.
