I’ve always been of the opinion that if you are into Yellowstone, you’ll enjoy Taylor Sheridan’s other shows. If you are not here for those gritty, Western, melodramatic series, then you should maybe turn on something else. It appears that sentiment remains true for his latest project Landman, because the reviews for it are all over the place. So, with its premiere on the 2024 TV schedule just days away, let’s go over what critics are saying about this Billy Bob Thornton-led drama.
Coming off the heels of Yellowstone’s Season 5B premiere, Taylor Sheridan’s newest project Landman is set to premiere on Sunday, November 17. The show takes place in West Texas and follows Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy Norris, the man who does the fixing for a powerful oil company. Like all of the super producer’s shows, this series is action-packed, intense and loaded with monologues. For some that works. For others, it doesn't.
There’s One Camp Who Did Not Love Landman
There are lots of critics who had a few bones to pick with Taylor Sheridan and his newest drama. For example, Daniel Fienberg’s review for THR highlights Billy Bob Thornton’s power as an actor, however, other than that, he didn’t seem to enjoy Landman much. He wrote:
That means big stars (not always well-used), big melodramatic swings (not always well-executed), and big tonal detours that left me unsure if Landman is meant to be at least semi-comedic. There’s a huge ensemble but very few fully conceived characters, just lots of Stetson-wearing dogmatic monologues waiting to happen. It’s bluntly entertaining and bluntly infuriating, characterized by the excesses of a producer to whom nobody ever says no.
Over at EW, Kristen Baldwin criticized the show for its depiction of women, headlining the review with “Man, does this new Taylor Sheridan drama hate women.” While she noted, as you will read below, that the first few episodes are fantastic, it was hard to see past the way the female characters are depicted:
Lest Mr. Sheridan think that I’m being too much of a scold, let me clarify: I’m not mad, sir, just disappointed. Landman’s pilot is fantastic, and I praised it as such. The underlying themes — including the world’s reliance on an industry that could destroy the planet — could not be timelier and more provocative. As the episodes progressed, however, and Sheridan proceeded to double, triple, and quadruple down with his tired takes on women, it was hard to maintain that same level of enthusiasm.
The series is based on Christian Wallace’s podcast Boomtown, and it tells a fictionalized story about the modern oil industry. In Kelcie Mattson’s review for Collider, she stated that Landman had potential, however, it lacked the nuance needed to succeed:
But despite Landman's potential, Sheridan's biggest recurring limitations run roughshod over his strengths. This fictional dramatization of a contentious real-world dilemma, not to mention its profoundly relevant ramifications, erases virtually all substance and nuance from the crucial conversation — while also making bizarrely nonsensical choices in other areas.
So, as you can see – and this is par for the course with Taylor Sheridan shows – there are lots of folks who have their critiques, and they’re fair. However, on the other side of this, there’s a whole other camp of critics who love Landman.
However, There’s A Whole Other Camp Of Critics Who Are Very Here For Landman
While Landman has its critics, it also has admirers. Over at Looper, Akos Peterbencze gave the series a 7.5 out of 10, citing Billy Bob Thornton's performance as one of the biggest pros of the show:
On a first impression, 'Landman' might come off as a self-serious show that attempts to expose the dark side of the oil business and its geopolitics (which is partly true), but Sheridan loosens up the pressure quite early on. Thornton's protagonist is a cross between his 'Bad Santa' character, Lorne Malvo from 'Fargo,' and a rough but soft-hearted dad who can hardly ever say no to his children. Even so, he won't shy away from hitting everyone in the face with harsh truths and on-point opinions that are often hysterical. The witty and drily sarcastic way he delivers those lines permeates the whole series, making it more entertaining than it has any right to be.
Meanwhile, along with praising the A-lister helming Sheridan’s show, CBR’s Brittany Frederick spent a lot of time comparing Landman to Yellowstone in a very complimentary way. Noting how Thornton’s character Tommy is the polar opposite of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, this new show does tackle similar themes and shares a lot of the drama the writer’s flagship show has:
Landman truly feels like Sheridan coming back to the modern Western ethos that he nailed so well with Yellowstone and in his films before that, and it succeeds in part because of that. With its Texas setting and a collection of hard-bitten characters fighting just to survive, it's everything Sheridan does really well.
Over at TV Guide, Liam Mathews had a similar opinion, naming Landman a “Worthy Successor to Yellowstone” in the headline. Like all the other reviews, the lead’s performance is praised. However, this critic made a big point about how refreshing it is to have a funny character in the lead role. He wrote that this makes Landman a refreshing entry in Taylor Sheridan's ever-growing catalog of work:
Sheridan's flagship show has gotten unwieldy with lackluster side characters, go-nowhere subplots, and shark-jumping twists, and the more grounded Landman feels like a welcome refresh as Yellowstone winds down. The plot, at least through the first five episodes, is fast-moving, focused, and mostly plausible.
If you learn anything about Landman from these critics, it seems to be that viewers’ mileage on this show may vary. However, if you dig Taylor Sheridan’s other projects – and specifically are a fan of Yellowstone – then this new series might be for you.
To figure out which side of this debate you fall on, you can stream the first two episodes of Landman with a Paramount+ subscription starting Sunday, November 17.
