Here is the rewritten article:
“Taylor Sheridan’s Landman has a lot of potential, but it’s too unfocused and unrefined to truly stand out in an increasingly crowded TV landscape.”
Pros:
* Billy Bob Thornton’s charismatic lead performance
* Its protagonist’s high-stakes, watchable role as a professional fixer
Cons:
* Deeply troubling treatment of its female characters
* A hero who’s never wrong
* Jon Hamm and Demi Moore are both frustratingly underused
* Thin characterizations and even thinner episodic subplots
In a 2022 interview, producer David Glasser described Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan as a “first-draft writer,” noting, “What he puts out is what we shoot. When he turns a script in, that’s it.” Glasser has produced every one of Sheridan’s shows over the last 6 years, beginning with Yellowstone and extending all the way to his latest offering, the Billy Bob Thornton-led oil drama Landman. His collaborations with Sheridan give him more knowledge of the TV titan’s creative process than most, so there seems to be no reason not to take him at his word.
Landman begins in the tensest of circumstances. It first finds Tommy Norris (Thornton), a crisis fixer for billionaire oil baron Monty Miller (Jon Hamm), tied to a chair in a desert warehouse owned by a drug cartel. When the region’s cartel leader enters the building, he does so with every intention of shooting Tommy in the head — or worse. Like many of Sheridan’s male protagonists, though, Tommy has a steely resolve and a confidence in not only the power of his corporate American employer, but also his own ability to talk himself out of any situation.
Tommy’s occupation is, to Sheridan’s credit, exactly the kind of narrative engine that can power a potentially long-running series, and Thornton is more than up to the task of leading Landman. The actor is at his most charismatic and unscrupulous as Tommy, a character who could make for a fascinating TV anti-hero if, well, Sheridan didn’t clearly like him so much. Thornton’s talent does a lot to offset the repetitive nature of Tommy’s scenes, but Landman stops itself from exploring or developing his character in any kind of meaningful way by treating him as if he really is right about everything.
Landman’s problems do not start and end with its one-note, one-sided depiction of its protagonist. Jon Hamm, one of TV’s finest actors, is perpetually underused in a role that asks him to just repeatedly answer Tommy’s calls and then decide through gritted teeth how he wants to handle his company’s latest expense. Hamm is always compelling onscreen, but by the time Monty has spent his third-straight episode doing nothing more than answering phone calls, even he starts to struggle to bring much life to his scenes.
The only saving grace of Landman is that it contains the bones of a fun, immersive drama about an industry that — despite its cultural and economic power — hasn’t been explored onscreen nearly as deeply as it could be. There are moments, like Cooper’s first day working with a veteran crew, when Landman comes close to being exactly that. But the show is too unfocused and unrefined to actually reach its full potential. It feels like it was written in a weekend by Sheridan, and it is full of all the head-scratching moments of would-be comedic relief and lazy characterizations (in the span of a single episode, at least two characters pointedly describe themselves out loud as “goal-oriented” people) that entails.
Conclusion:
Landman has potential, but it’s a show that lacks focus and refinement. With a charismatic lead performance from Billy Bob Thornton, it’s worth watching, but it’s not without its flaws. The show’s treatment of its female characters is troubling, and the hero is never wrong. Jon Hamm and Demi Moore are underused, and the characterizations are thin. With some work, Landman could be a compelling drama, but for now, it’s just a show with potential.
FAQs:
* What is Landman about?
+ Landman is an oil drama that follows Tommy Norris, a crisis fixer for billionaire oil baron Monty Miller.
* Who stars in Landman?
+ The show stars Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm, and Demi Moore.
* What are the pros and cons of Landman?
+ Pros: charismatic lead performance, high-stakes role, and potential for a fun and immersive drama. Cons: troubled treatment of female characters, hero who’s never wrong, underused actors, and thin characterizations and subplots.
* Will Landman reach its full potential?
+ The show has potential, but it’s too unfocused and unrefined to actually reach its full potential.
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