TV mogul Taylor Sheridan was already ruling over a massive empire at Paramount+ thanks to the success of Yellowstone, the sprawling neo-Western series starring Kevin Costner. And then, Sheridan went and created a new show that further fortified his reign. It followed a similar template to Yellowstone and featured Billy Bob Thornton in the lead role of an oil magnate in Texas. While the show experienced its share of growing pains, it has received mostly positive reviews from critics and fans. We’re talking, of course, about Landman. In a recent appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Sheridan refused to apologize for the show’s divisive narrative, and admitted that a part of him likes to rage-bait critics. He also recalled the humorous pitch that got Thornton to sign on to the project.
Sheridan said that he referenced one of Thornton’s most memorable movies while pitching Landman to him. “I said, ‘I want to make a drama with Bad Santa running an oil company’. He’s like, ‘That’s the greatest f*cking thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Yeah, let’s do it!’” In Bad Santa, the dark comedy released in 2003, Thornton played an alcoholic crook who plans to rob malls on Christmas Eve while wearing a Santa costume. The movie was a critical and commercial hit, and is now regarded as one of the best cult classics of the early 2000s. A sequel, titled Bad Santa 2, was released in 2016 to poor critical and commercial reception.
Taylor Sheridan Finds New Talent and Gives Veterans Roles of a Lifetime
Landman, on the other hand, appears to have settled at an 80% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The show’s second season was “Certified Fresh” with an 83% score and a consensus that reads, “Further refining its brutish elements into addictive drama, Landman‘s second season makes minor improvements in its treatment of female characters while continuing to benefit from Billy Bob Thornton’s hangdog swagger.” Thornton was nominated at the Golden Globes for his performance in the show, which has been renewed for a third season. Meanwhile, Sheridan is on the verge of beginning a new creative partnership with NBCUniversal after having spent nearly a decade at Paramount, where he created several hit shows. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
-
November 17, 2024
- Network
-
Paramount
- Franchise(s)
-
Yellowstone


















For longtime fans of the franchise, perhaps the most exciting revelation wasn’t the production update—it was hearing how deeply McBride understands the source material.
line.









You must be logged in to post a comment Login