A lot’s changed on the lot that at least for the moment is still known as the Paramount headquarters in just a year. The ownership, for one. The measurement service of record, for those like me to whom that small detail matters. And, most def, what gets priority consideration in an ever-evolving landscape.
When Taylor Sheridan’s newest original LANDMAN debuted roughly twelve months ago it was a handcuff launch to the final season of YELLOWSTONE and as we mused at the time its debut performance was significantly enhanced by its availability on the Paramount Network–not to mention the fact it was being measured by a Nielsen alternative that in hindsight was proven to have inflated audiences perhaps more than it deserved. Hence we probably weren’t as bullish as we should have been about its long-term prospects. But as the 10-episode season played out, it proved to be extremely well-cast. reasonable well-acted, provocative and compelling. And definitely worthy of the extensive recap and preview that VARIETY’s William Earl dropped yesterday:
The first season of the Taylor Sheridan drama, which he created with “Boomtown” host Christian Wallace, introduced the world to Tommy Norris, the titular landman played by Billy Bob Thornton. Tommy works for oil company M-Tex, keeping drilling operations moving along — despite constant danger in the oil fields, trouble from the cartels and legal woes. Along the way, we get to know his family — ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter), son Cooper (Jacob Lofland) and daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) — and the economics of the oil biz, from the treacherous West Texas fields to the cutthroat boardrooms. Family matters will take center stage in this second season, as we finally meet Tommy’s father T.L., played by Sam Elliott.
It’s got all the trappings of the Sheridan-verse, a world that has disproportionately attracted A-plus level talent typically seeking out theatrical opportunities, coupled with some good old-fashioned soap and sex that shows like DALLAS and DYNASTY showcased in the day, amped up by today’s looser standards and the expectations of a streaming platform’s audience. One particular plot line caught the attention of a good friend of mine who ultimately got me hooked because, ya know, some things are downright irresistible, and Earl certainly spent a lot of time making sure we knew how Thornton felt about it:
I think one of my favorite moments is when Ainsley, we’re at the football game and she’s got the boyfriend there. I’m, of course, a father to a 21-year-old daughter in college right now. So when I hear her say some of these things to me, you don’t have to act much. You just react to it. [Editor’s note: This scene is from the pilot, when Ainsley tells her father about her sex life with her boyfriend, noting that, “As long as he never comes in me, he can come anywhere on me.” Needless to say, this moment went viral.] Plus, Michelle’s as sweet as pie. When we hear that come out of her mouth sometimes… But one way or the other, she’s telling me what she will or will not let the boyfriend do, which I don’t want to hear anything about any of it. And I think maybe my best quote was a stare, and all I can think of to say is, ‘I’m going to go get a Dr. Pepper — you want anything?’ Because I can’t even let myself think right then, you know?”
How did Michelle Randolph survive shooting that now-viral scene?
“We filmed so out of order because we had all 10 episodes, so that was midway through the season,” Randolph says. “That day was freezing cold. There was a whole storm. We had 10 minutes to get that shot, and there was a whole group of people behind us in the bleachers. All I could think is these people are hearing this dialogue, and none of them know what this show is about. So I was just honestly kind of mortified as myself, saying these lines out loud to these people. Billy had it easy because all he had to do was walk away, I’d say.”
There’s still more discovery in Ainsley’s world this year, now that she’s technically (barely) legal, but that’s a small part of the appeal that’s already been on display in the debut episode which dropped early this morning–now exclusively on Paramount Plus, yet on a Sunday where streamers have rarely dropped new content. In different times LANDMAN might have been at least dual illuminated as it was last year–perhaps even on CBS itself as some of the platform’s other previous originals have. But with YELLOWSTONE as we have known it now being history, and with the tech-first new management of Messrs. Ellison and Shell now helming the studio, you now have to go to the platform to discover it. At least one didn’t have to wait until prime time the way those old school thinkers at HBO/HBO MAX still release their prestige series. There’s plenty of reason to do so if you already haven’t, and for a change I’m not the only one who believes that. SOAP CENTRAL’s Koushiki Roy was among the other insomniacs who did and she cited a whole bunch, so before you click make sure you’re aware of SPOILERS APLENTY!!
And JOBLO’s Alex Maidy, who had the benefit of advance episode screenings, was quite gushy in his own right:
Tommy’s ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter) is still a force to be reckoned with, shifting from sexually voracious to on the verge of murdering Tommy, sometimes within the same scene. Daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) is preparing for college as everyone still lives within a single house alongside M-Tex attorney Nathan (Colm Feore) and engineer Dale Bradley (James Jordan). We also see Tommy’s son, Cooper (Jacob Lofland), continuing his relationship with Ariana (Paulina Chavez), the widow of Cooper’s former engineering mentor. Cooper gets to finally explore his own aspirations as a landman at the start of the season, which comes with its own challenges, something he turns to Tommy to help him navigate. This season also introduces Tommy’s estranged father, T.L., played by 1883 actor Sam Elliott. Elliott is a perfect fit for this series, and his on-screen relationship with Billy Bob Thornton makes for compelling television. The entire Norris clan undergoes extensive exploration in these early episodes, and audiences are treated to multiple dramatic dinner sequences featuring face-offs between Tommy and Angela.
What has consistently engaged me about Landman, compared to some other Taylor Sheridan series, is the balance of humor alongside the drama and occasional action. The first season peppered in numerous events at various pumps and sites, ranging from accidents to crimes, and this season sees some unique events that caught me off guard. With Jon Hamm gone this season, Demi Moore’s minor role is expanded to a significant part of the series, with Andy Garcia’s character also playing a key part in Landman‘s sophomore run. In just the first three episodes, I was hooked by the expansive amount of story in each hour-long episode and was more engaged than the last two seasons of Yellowstone combined.
I’m pretty much in lockstep with Maidy about with the anticipation of all the more from the likes of Elliott, Garcia and Moore, as well as the tantalizing family dynamic that the Thornton-Larter-Randolph triangle provides. My one nitpick is with the platform itself, where in order to navigate one’s way to the episode one had to click multiple times and seek out an anything-but-obvious drop down menu to find Season 2 and then, as with all Paramount Plus content, click again to launch the actual episode. I get the desire to trick newcomers to potentially watching more via the echo effect–heck knows I’ve studied and contributed to that phenomenon myself. But when this is now your premiere property from your $800 million man, it should be a lot easier for folks to find a quicker way to access it– especially when you’re dropping it in the middle of the night East Coast time.
Assuming what’s left of the P+ team addresses that navigation hiccup, I know what I’m doing for the foreseeable future on sleepless Sunday mornings ahead of football et al. Do join me. It’s a rocky road to travel but the reward is more than worth the trouble.
Until next time…