Landman (Season 2)
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- 3 min read
Taylor Sheridan strikes gold again with season 2 of LANDMAN, a modern Western drama packed with great characters and superb actors that create nuanced, hilarious and dramatic people we care about, laugh with and love. The oil boomtowns of West Texas have never been this entertaining and Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris is a character for the ages.
The writing this sophomore season is off the charts great, with Sheridan penning every one of the ten episodes.
This second year also benefits from a much larger role for Demi Moore as Cami Miller, the new widow of her oil company founder husband, thrust into the driver's seat and quickly finding her path. Moore is a perfect balance of grief, vulnerability and power as Cami.
Sam Elliott joins the cast as Tommy's estranged Dad, TL, who enters the scene after Tommy's unseen Mother dies. The family dynamics around Tommy's youth and his mother's mental illness is a powerful subplot and Elliott is fantastic as a tired, wounded man trying to come to terms with the past. It's rare to see two characters develop in their communication and emotions like TL & Tommy do over these ten episdoes. It's beyond moving AND at times, laugh out loud funny.
Andy Garcia (Ocean's 11, The Godfather Part III) is also a valuable addition in his expanded role as wealthy Texas businessman Gallino, whose business dealing cover every bit of Texas dirt from skyscrapers to drug dealers. Garcia is excellent as a man with a hair trigger that always seems a moment away from exploding at one of Tommy's one liners. Watching the relationship between Tommy, Cami and Gallino morph across the episodes is fascinating. I understand where both Tommy and Gallino are in their positions, but I wish Tommy would be more open to the man's advice!
Key subplots for all our favorite characters abound.
Tommy's ex Angela (Ali Larter) is back on screen, devouring anyone in the way of her unquenchable lust for life in all it's richest decadence. The nightly dinners are all hilarious, the exact polar opposite of those prayer led dinners at The Reagans house in "Blue Bloods". My face hurt from laughing. Can't Tommy just get a taco?
Daughter Ainsley is getting ready to attend TSU and her face off with a stuffy academic counselor is a major highlight, as are her and Angela's trips with the old folks at a nearby nursing home. Michelle Randolph is stunning, pulling off quite a trick creating an air-headed, spoiled young woman that you'll care about.
Her opposite in the series is Ariana (Paulina Chavez) the young recent widow of an oil worker who's fallen for Tommy's son Cooper, played by Jacob Lofland. Their relationship is just starting, but what an arc they have. When Cooper's oil wildcatting instincts seem to be just as keen as his Father's, new opportunities explode.
Seriously intense lawyer Rebecca Falcone (Kayla Wallace) is back, tearing her adversaries to shreds, but occasionally in over head as she needs to learn very quickly about the politics, power plays and tiny details about the oil business. We get to see a lot more nuances of Falcone this year, diving behind the personal curtain of one of the most serious, driven people on the planet. It turns out she does have a heart, but finding it is a lot of fun and some big laughs along with the heart.
There are so many great characters across the season.
Colm Feore's Nathan, watching the new generation nip at his heels in the form of Rebecca. James Jordan is a blast as Dale, Tommy's right hand man in the field. Nathan and Dale's loyalty is unquestioned, but the fact they live in the same house as Tommy, Angela, Ainsley and TL delivers one great comedic scene after another.
Sheridan's writing is amazing and his conservative take on the world is refreshing. He creates wild characters that feel real, sometime wildly over-the-top but always entertaining. I don't remember a series that feels this dusty, lived in and stunning all at the same time.
As the series jets from $60 million private jets and the greatest wealth in Texas to the dusty flat plains and oil rigs teams, Sheridan guides it with an unwavering hand that promises entertainment first. And delivers.
This is one of the best streaming series I've ever enjoyed and I already can't wait for Season 3, launching in November of 2026.
LANDMAN strikes liquid gold once again, earning an A+.
The finale is absolute perfection.
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