Landman Is Finally Here: What Is It About & Is the New Taylor Sheridan Show Any Good?

Paramount+ has premiered a highly anticipated new series from one of Hollywood's top cowboys, Taylor Sheridan. The series is based on Boomtown, a podcast about the Texas oil industry hosted by the show's second writer, Christian Wallace.

It's hard not to envy Taylor Sheridan's productivity. First of all, we are talking about Yellowstone and its numerous spin-offs, which will also receive additional seasons – 1883 and 1923.

Landman Is Another Taylor Sheridan Project

Last year also saw the debut of a show in which Sheridan had a hand – Lioness, starring Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman, about strong women in a combat unit. Sheridan also had a hand in Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King.

Of course, he doesn't have a leading role in everything, but such a number of projects doesn't bother Sheridan at all, so in 2022 Paramount+ ordered a series from him inspired by the podcast Boomtown.

What Is Landman About?

The story revolves around several factions: simple working-class drillers, rich men in suits, and seasoned modern cowboys. The main character is Tommy Norris. He negotiates drilling leases with dangerous people while sitting with a bag over his head, is in close contact with the local sheriff, and is not afraid to get his hands dirty.

And with all of these problems, Norris has no less difficult family issues to deal with: an unstable teenage daughter, a son who is committed to rising from the bottom of a difficult profession despite the opportunities available to him, and an ex-wife with whom the protagonist exchanges barbs over a video call.

Landman Continues the Tradition of Sheridan's Best Projects

The series continues in the fine tradition of Sheridan's brutal projects. Viewers are introduced to modern cowboys in a neo-Western with majestic locations. Landman not only tells stories about tough guys in hats, but also touches on important modern issues – from ecology to social inequality.

If Yellowstone was about the beauty of the open range, Landman is about the charm of the Texas prairie. Nature is one of the main features of the series, as it was the exploitation of its resources that brought the characters to where they are now.

A clear distinction between social classes gives the viewer a clear picture: the rich live in the luxury of the metropolis, while the poor are forced to survive in near poverty.

And somewhere in the middle is the cynical Tommy Norris, who keeps putting out the flames and sacrificing parts of his body without a drop of regret.

Sipping strong black coffee, Texas cowboys continue to exist in the modern world, where the rules of the game are dictated by the same things as always – power and money. It cannot be said that the project is original, but it fits confidently into Sheridan's line of brutal neo-westerns.