Warning: Some SPOILERS lie ahead for Landman episodes 1 & 2!
A young man learns the dangers of the oil industry while a veteran worker and sheriff find their livelihoods threatened inLandman. The oil rig drama marks the latest TV show from the groundbreaking mind ofYellowstonecreator Taylor SheridanandBoomtown’s Christian Wallace. The show primarily focuses on Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy Norris, the titular crisis manager for a West Texas oil company faced with a drug cartel’s airplane exploding on the company’s land, as well as a rig exploding, and various family problems.
AmongLandman’s cast of charactersisMaze Runneralum Jacob Lofland as Cooper, Tommy’s son who wants to be an oil crewman, even in spite of being the sole survivor of the rig explosion at the end of episode 1. Also a part of the show are seven-time Sheridan collaborator James Jordan as Dale Bradley, a veteran petroleum engineer and one of Tommy’s roommates who has to adjust to life when Tommy’s teenage daughter moves in to the house, and Mark Collie as Joeberg, the local sheriff who is in the midst of investigating the airplane explosion, but also has a history with Tommy.
Taylor Sheridan’s New Yellowstone Replacement Show Is Now Streaming & It’s Perfectly Timed
Landman is the latest show from TV mega-producer Taylor Sheridan, and its frequent comparisons to Yellowstone mean it’s come at a perfect time.
Alongside Thornton, Lofland, Collie and Jordan, the ensembleLandmancast includes1923’s Michelle Randolph,Final Destination’s Ali Larter,The Substance’s Demi Moore,Top Gun: Maverick’s Jon Hamm,The Umbrella Academy’s Colm Feore, Kayla Wallace and Paulina Chávez. Currently holding a 71% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, Sheridan’s latest is off to a strong start thanks to its mix of explosive drama, well-written characters and surprisingly effective humor.
Prior to the show’s premiere,Screen Rantinterviewed stars Jacob Lofland, Mark Collie and James Jordan to discussLandman, what to expect from their character arcs going into the rest of the season, particularly Cooper and Chávez’s Ariana, and why the show proves to be the funniest yet from Sheridan across his various neo-Western projects.
Landman’s Set Was Surprisingly Very Practical
“…there’s danger around if we don’t know what we’re doing.”
Screen Rant: I am excited to chat with you guys forLandman. I watched the first five episodes, and I am already hooked. Jacob, I’d love to turn to you first. Cooper is very much one of the biggest hearts of this show, as he sort of acts as the audiences' in to the world of the oil business. What was one of the biggest keys to finding the heart of that character, as he sort of became immersed in this world?
Jacob Lofland: It wasn’t hard to find the heart, because when you’re thrown into that position, and this is Taylor Sheridan’s world, it’s real. When we step on to set, we’re really there with the oil rigs, and there’s danger around if we don’t know what we’re doing. We’ve been taught how to do this. At the end of it all, though, he’s wanting to do this for himself. He’s showing up there to make a name for himself. He just knows this might be the easiest path, and he knows people who have done it. He doesn’t know what he’s signing up for to get there, though.
I also love Cooper and Ariana’s relationship as it sort of evolves to being this really special friendship. What was it like working with Paulina and finding that dynamic of those two characters?
Jacob Lofland: Oh, it was awesome, and we worked so well together. To go back to what James said, we have such an amazing cast, and it didn’t take anyone anytime to get to know each other. We all fell right in. We’re all friends, you know? It just worked great, there was no pressure, and we fell right into that terrifically.
Sheriff Joeberg’s Storyline Is “Going To Grow” In Future Episodes
“…the character is important to the family.”
Mark, I’ll turn to you next. I feel like we are only just scratching the surface of your character in these first few episodes. What can you tell me about how he might become more involved as things evolve, particularly after episode 1’s explosive opening?
Mark Collie: Well, anytime something blows up, or somebody finds a body, they call Walt. [Laughs] But ultimately, the character is important to the family. He and Tommy, obviously, you could probably garner that they’re close. They’re closer than most businessmen and sheriff’s departments, you know, and Walt tries to be as accommodating, and he tries to cover Tommy’s a– when he has to. But the thing of it is that’s going to grow, and it’s going to get more exciting and more dangerous. I’d love to tell you all about it, but then I’d probably get fired. I want to make season 2, so I’m just going to leave it at that, stay tuned. [Laughs]
Landman’s Cast Were Often Filming With The First Draft Of Sheridan’s Scripts
Jordan Also Teases That Sheridan “Really Flexes That Funny Bone” With The Show
James, I’ll turn to you next. You are obviously a veteran at this point of working with Taylor. I’d love to hear your thoughts when you saw what this character would be, and how you and Taylor worked together to really get this character to where we see him on the screen?
James Jordan: You know, it all starts with Taylor’s words, his scripts. We shoot the first draft most of the time, they come polished. There’s adjustments here or there on the day, guys, but we’re shooting what he wrote originally. So, it starts with the page and starts with the script, and then under his excellent direction, and then working with these fantastic folks here, and then Billy Bob and Ali and Mr. Hamm, and all those fine folks, you just show up to the set and hit your mark and tell the truth and then hope it attracts an audience. We think this one will, because, of course, it’s another Taylor Sheridan world, unexplored world, another frontier. And when you explore a frontier, you’re exploring the unknown, and we want folks to come along for the ride with us.
I certainly think they will, and I think people are also going to love just how funny this show is in comparison to maybe some of Taylor’s other works.
James Jordan: Great point. I was just going to say, this is probably the funniest thing he’s ever written. Don’t you think? I think it is. He really flexes that funny bone in this one, and it’s going to surprise folks, and it gives folks a chance to catch their breath between the big set pieces that we have through all 10 hours here. So yeah, a lot of fun.
AboutLandman
Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the notable 11-part podcast “Boomtown,” the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.
Landman
Cast
Set in West Texas, this series explores the world of oil rigs and the fortunes they create. It portrays a modern upstairs/downstairs narrative of roughnecks and billionaires, highlighting the profound impact on the climate, economy, and geopolitics in these boomtowns.
