The Writings of John Ryan Sullivan

On paper a television show about oil production and the problems that arise because of it, is not something that interests me. Set in west Texas, starring Billy Bob Thornton and featuring self-absorbed and self-destructive characters, Landman is not what I am looking for when I sit down in front of my television. And yet.

I’m relatively new to the television works of Taylor Sheridan. I’ve seen his movies and enjoyed them but outside of Lioness and Tulsa King (season one) I have resisted the spell he has cast in recent years. There is no reason for my resistance, I’m no better or worse than any other television watcher in my tastes, only that Yellowstone and its spinoffs failed to grab my interest.

Having now watched and enjoyed Landman I think I can point to the reason for my reluctance: the trailers for the westerns give me little sense of what the shows are about (aside from fighting, explosions and tough talking folk). Landman’s trailer quickly conveys that Billy Bob Thornton is a guy working for an oil company and he’s got a lot of problems to deal with. Starting the first episode I understood the show is set in Texas and that Jon Hamm is involved. That’s about all I knew but it looked interesting.

Having watched the show I would say the trailer did a fine job of conveying season one of Landman but, and this is important, it left a lot out. What, you ask, was omitted?

For starters the bulk of the main cast. Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph and Jacob Lofland. Not to mention James Jordan, Colm Feore and Paulina Chávez. Oh and Demi Moore.

The show centers on Billy Bob Thornton and his Sisyphean struggles to manage his crews, oil sites and family but each of his family members has their own plot lines. Why I am writing about this is because in addition to finding myself sucked into the world of oil production I also found myself caring about characters I was certain would be caricatures.

In particular Angela and Ainsley Norris, respectively ex-wife and daughter of our hero, Tommy Norris. Angela begins as the self-absorbed ex-wife who is a constant source of aggravation. When she re-enters his daily life she becomes the problematic love of Tommy’s life that he’s not sure he can live without. Yet she also develops agency, her own interests while still remaining who she’s always been and will be.

Ainsley has a similar arc and what I found rewarding to watch with her character was to see how she was shaped by her mother and her mother’s beliefs. Often stories with teenagers focus solely on their rebellions and their anger with their parents. Not so much in Landman. Ainsley genuinely loves and listens to her parents (even if she doesn’t always obey).

Neither of these women are initially presented as being complex or even interesting but over the course of the show their depth and humanity surfaces and they become as multi-dimensional as Tommy – which is a rarity in television.

Landman is an interesting show in that it doesn’t follow the formula I’ve come to expect. Case in point, one of the early scenes shows Tommy Norris injecting himself with multiple medicines before starting his day. Ten episodes later and this is not mentioned or made important to the story being told. It’s as though Chekhov wasn’t consulted in the scriptwriting.

Which for me is a selling point. Most television announces things early on – “This Will Be Important” or “Don’t Forget, He Has a Gambling Problem” and feels the need, in every episode, to remind you that our character used to (insert something here) or can’t be trusted with (insert something there). The formula exists because each episode needs to establish key plot points for those at home who have just started watching but it makes most of us inwardly groan and mentally check out each time it happens.

These moments are few in Landman and although the season does not conclude with a neat bow and all problems solved it does have a sense of realistic resolution. You have a sense of where things are going and are aware of the pitfalls that lie ahead. In short I think it does a wonderful job of giving the viewer a sense of things to come while surprising you with twists you could not expect.

That the season concludes in a manner that assumes more will come is another surprise (although I am learning this is common for Taylor Sheridan’s shows). I find myself rather enjoying this. There is something to be said about not finding a clever yearly solution to all the show’s problems, just in case we never see these characters again. I have no idea if Landman is a show for most viewers, I can only say I enjoyed it and the numerous complexities it presented.