Landman season 1

Taylor Sheridan and his time placed their sights on another slice of rural American drama with Landman  in 2024. Released on Paramount+, Sheridan brings together a very talented cast for ten episodes in the oil fields of Texas and the generally positive buzz caught my interest. Yellowstone seems like a mountain to climb, which I have just started, so the prospect of this new show seemed much more appealing and so I donned my figurative Stetson, got in my huge truck and set out west. 

Landman follows general manager and fixer for an oil company, Tommy Norris, in West Texas where he has just secured a lease to operate on lands from the Mexican cartel using some risky negotiations. Things seem like business will boom for Jon Hamm's owner but a drug deal gone wrong on their land sees a myriad of problems soon develop for Norris and his team. 

Starring an excellent Billy Bob Thornton as Norris, Landman gets off to a very strong start and I would dare say keeps this momentum going throughout until the ending which seems to hit a wall while patiently awaiting news if a second season will come. And that has been confirmed. The cast are all terrific, it looks great and makes full use of the Texas landscape, and isn't afraid to delve into the complexities of drilling for oil; both physically and ethically. The whole thing makes for a very engaging drama but if only the story around Norris formed the entire show. Afraid, there are several subplots which test some. 

The secondary storyline follows Norris' educated son who has traded textbooks to build practical experience working with an oil crew, and this started strong but falls into melodrama one too many times. And the third subplot surrounds Norris younger daughter and ex-wife in a tonally jarring shift for the show, which runs the risk of giving the viewer whiplash as we go from deadly situations with Norris to some quite expected moments to add comedy and light relief. Sometimes the clash as we see Norris tackling a serious issue and then being caught off-guard by a silly family request can be amusing but this subplot does outstay its welcome on more than a few occasions.

Landman is very good show for the most part and I look forward to seeing where the series goes next but I hope the showrunners can find a neater balance between all the storylines for a more cohesive experience. I still enjoyed my time with this and would give it a recommendation, just knowing to go in with an open mind.