Season 2 of Landman improves upon the first in some ways, and goes frustratingly backward in others. Taylor Sheridan is still aiming to tell a modern Texas epic, and he still has a wonderfully intriguing cast to do it. Yet some of the lessons the Paramount+ show learned get lost in the excitement of a second go-around.
It’s a brave new world for Tommy Norris. He’s the president of M-TEX and helping Cami Miller navigate the shark-infested waters of the energy business after her husband Monty’s death in Season 1. Demi Moore steps ably into the space that Jon Hamm created in the first season, having been promoted to a series regular. With Cami having so much extra to do, Moore gets a bigger spotlight and proves that she truly is the perfect choice to play Cami Miller.
Like Hamm, she’s tough without overdoing it, but also commands attention (from both characters and the viewing audience). The friendship between Cami and Tommy is the most interesting relationship in Landman Season 2, because not only does it feel so genuine, but it also digs into compelling subjects like the power dynamics of the industry.
Of course, Billy Bob Thornton continues to be the driving force of Landman, because so much revolves around Tommy in one way or another. Co-creator Sheridan drops audiences right back into the Landman world by having Thornton deliver a completely left-field monologue about the evils of breakfast, of all things, and it works because Thornton delivers it with commitment but also that sly sense of humor underneath.
The show continues to ask Thornton to shoulder the bulk of the weight, and he does it effortlessly, in the same way he did with Prime Video’s Goliath before this. Landman Season 2 is worth watching just to see where Thornton takes Tommy next, playing off a great combination of massive names and lesser-known but still great supporting actors. When the iconic Sam Elliott shows up, he will take viewers by surprise, but he also fits right in.
A lot in the early going is about re-establishing the oil business plots, both for Tommy and his son Cooper (Jacob Lofland), so it takes a bit for said supporting cast to find their footing again. Colm Feore, for example, only has one scene in the Season 2 premiere. Yet when they are able, they pick up right where they left off. These are actors and characters who all feel like real people.
There continues to be an utter lack of pretension across most of Landman; it’s able to balance these discussions of big business with important stories of “the little guy,” with an understanding that “the little guy” is what makes the big thing work.
But when it drifts from that core concept, Landman Season 2 struggles. There are times when it feels like Sheridan and the creative team get a little too artistic with what they’re trying to do—almost at odds with the show’s blue-collar ethos. For example, there are four needle drops in the first ten minutes of the season premiere; there doesn’t need to be a soundtrack filling up the silence on screen. It’s okay to simply sit with the ambient noise of the world.
Then there’s what seems to be a pressing need for comic relief. The characters of Tommy’s ex-wife, Angela, and most notably his daughter Ainsley, have reversed much of the progress they made in Season 1 as Ainsley enters college. Her first major scene, having an interview in the admissions office at TCU, makes Ainsley look more self-involved and clueless than she’s ever been.
Then there are extended comments about how Angela behaves while on her menstrual cycle. It feels like these things exist to make viewers laugh, to provide a change of pace from the grind of the rest of Landman, but none of this is funny. In fact, it’s frustrating because watching those two characters grow beyond their own self-interests was a high point in Season 1. Michelle Randolph, in particular, really saw Ainsley’s arc expand. But Season 2 leaves a lot to be desired for both Ainsley and Angela.
That’s at odds with the strong character path for Cami, who is introduced putting a pair of would-be “sugar babies” in their place after they insult her in a hotel bathroom. With that scene, Landman makes a genuinely funny—and strong—statement. It’s worth a cheer when Cami points out to Tommy that she ruined someone’s vacation. This show is absolutely capable of writing complex female characters.
And it can still hit its mark of telling a sprawling tale about this very specific part of American culture. There’s a sense of place in Landman that is second only to what Sheridan, Hugh Dillon, and company are doing in Mayor of Kingstown. Landman is not on the level of Mayor of Kingstown; this sort of tonal dissonance holds it back. But for those flaws, Landman Season 2 is bursting with talent and is still a journey through a portion of the country most audiences probably haven’t thought much about. It may not hit its mark all the time, but it’s able to score more than enough bullseyes.
Landman Season 2 premieres Sunday, Nov. 16 on Paramount+.
