If anyone knows about effective storytelling, it’s Stephen King. The preeminent horror scribe has written countless novels, screenplays, and teleplays throughout his illustrious career, often using his communication skills to opine about movies and TV shows. The most recent example includes Landman, the latest Taylor Sheridan TV creation starring Billy Bob Thornton as a West Texas oilman tasked with averting severe crises.
Despite the overly masculine characters toiling in a male-dominated industry, King is correct about the authentic depiction of blue-collar workers in Landman. With the Season 1 finale fresh in viewers’ minds following its January 12, 2025, airing, it’s time to hear why King is such a surprise fan of the Sheridan show and what he respects most about the genuine nature of the oil rig workers in the Paramount+ original series.
Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Landman’ Follows a Texas Oil Man
Taylor Sheridan created Landman for Paramount+, a TV drama in West Texas that follows Tommy Norris (Thornton) and everyone in his orbit. Based on Christian Wallace’s Boomtown podcast, Tommy serves as an oil landman and the Vice President of Operations for M-Tex Oil, a fictional company with many employees.
Tommy negotiates his busy work schedule with his home life involving ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter) and children Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) and Cooper (Jacob Lofland). The main conflict in Season 1 occurs when a U.S. army test bomb launched on M-Tex property inadvertently hits a Mexican drug cartel, prompting a revenge campaign. Meanwhile, Tommy’s close friend and M-Tex owner, Monty Miller (Jon Hamm), becomes gravely ill, putting more responsibility on Tommy’s shoulders to guide the company through the crisis. When a big-city causation lawyer named Rebecca Falcone (Kayla Wallace) arrives in Texas and probes the crime scene, Tommy has one more legal problem to navigate.
Landman premiered on Paramount+ on November 17, 2024, and concluded on January 12, 2025. In May 2024, Demi Moore, who plays Monty’s wife, Cami, said that Season 2 would begin filming in early 2025, though that’s yet to be confirmed.
Stephen King’s ‘Landman’ Assessment
11 days after Landman Season 1 concluded, premiere horror author Stephen King took to Threads to express his opinion about the latest Taylor Sheridan TV show. What’s most fascinating is how King is reluctant to embrace his enjoyment, stating:
“I sorta hate myself for liking this, the spine is all macho-macho man and like THE MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN and YELLOWSTONE, the main character is a fixer who takes no s***. We’d all like to be that guy. But Taylor Sheridan knows how to show ordinary men at work, and you gotta like that. Also, great country music needle drops.”
Of course, Yellowstone and The Mayor of Kingstown are also Sheridan TV creations that couldn’t be more different from each other. King has the requisite knowledge of Sheridan’s resume to make his keen assessments, which he is right to point out regarding the rarely seen West Texas oilfields and oil worker hierarchy. King is also a well-known guitar-playing enthusiast, giving legitimacy to his musical endorsements. The show features a vocational vocabulary, educating viewers on everything from Roughnecks and Chainhands to Worms, Ginsels, Toolpushers, and other unglamorous oil rig workers who hardly ever get the spotlight in movies or TV.
Why Stephen King Is Correct About ‘Landman’
Although King found some blowback on Threads for admitting his enjoyment of Landman, The Hall of Fame storyteller knows what he’s talking about. King is correct in highlighting the show by emphasizing “ordinary men at work” in a dirty, dangerous, thankless occupation rarely depicted on screen. Taylor majors in giving voice and agency to the underrepresented, never more effective than his 2017 movie Wind River, which tackled the sobering issue of underreported murdered Indigenous women in America.
Of course, in these hyper-partisan political times in America, not everyone agrees with King’s critical appraisal of Sheridan’s messaging. After praising the show against his better judgment, King was met with disagreements on Threads. For example, one detractor pushes back on the praise, stating:
“Sheridan is a misogynist hack meathead. He’s been lucky to have Billy Bob, Nicole, Zoe, and Kevin save his bulls*** ‘I’m just a blue-collar man’ Republican dog whistle writing.”
A more tempered response includes:
“Putting Sheridan’s machismo & his views of the oil world aside, the comments here about the show’s misogyny (and incest?!?) are shortsighted at best & fabricated at worst. I’ve watched every episode, and I’ve been struck by the care taken to treat the female characters with respect. Boundaries are set, eyes are averted & sexist insults are nowhere to be found. On the surface, things may appear one way. But watch it again. Sit with it, *pay attention,* and let your assumptions be challenged.”
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Everything We Know About ‘Landman’ Season 2
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Without touching on the “great country music needle drops,” King’s view that Landman is a rare example of portraying hard manual labor on TV through no-frills characters who are relatable and reliable as everyday workers is on point. Without Landman existing, TV watchers would remain in the dark regarding the oil and gas industry and its employee food chain.
Unless one works in the industry, knowing what responsibilities lead oil crew engineers Boss Ramone (Mustafa Speaks) and Armando Medina (Michael Peña) and their underlings must perform wouldn’t be exposed. No matter where one comes down on Sheridan’s politics, there’s no denying that, in Landman, he continues the attempt to give voice to the voiceless and spotlight the kind of physical blue-collar labor threatened by AI and automation. Landman is available to stream on Paramount+.