Landman (2024): Where Power Runs Deeper Than Oil

In Texas, land is power—and everyone’s drilling for a piece.

Landman (2024) is a hard-hitting, character-driven drama that drills deep into the gritty, high-stakes world of West Texas oil. Created by Taylor Sheridan (the mind behind Yellowstone, Sicario, and Hell or High Water), this Paramount+ series blends big business, broken families, and raw ambition into a volatile mix that feels as explosive as the pipelines it portrays. With a powerhouse cast led by Billy Bob Thornton, Landman delivers a timely tale about modern boomtown America—where fortunes rise and morals fall.

The story centers on Tommy Norris (Thornton), a veteran oil “landman”—a fixer, negotiator, and enforcer hired by big energy corporations to acquire drilling rights and smooth over conflicts with landowners. But in a region where oil equals power, and power equals everything, Tommy finds himself caught between corporate greed, local resistance, and his own increasingly fractured conscience.

Set in a fictional Texas oil town, the series exposes both the seductive promise and brutal cost of America’s obsession with energy. Each episode dives into a web of rivalries, lawsuits, sabotage, and desperation—whether it's ranchers trying to protect their land, workers chasing the next big paycheck, or executives playing chess with people’s futures.

Like Sheridan’s other works, Landman thrives on morally gray characters and grounded realism. The oil fields aren’t just muddy—they’re political minefields. And in this world, loyalty is fluid, trust is rare, and survival means making ugly deals with dirtier hands.

Visually, the series captures the dusty grandeur of Texas—the endless plains, the towering rigs, the quiet violence of a land both beautiful and unforgiving. But the real tension is beneath the surface: the clashing values of old-school grit and corporate calculation, the price of legacy, and the haunting truth that even the richest soil can leave you feeling empty.