The most-watched series debut in the history of the Paramount+ network (also home to a little show called Yellowstone) is a wild ride called Landman. The series stars veteran dramatic talent including Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm and Ali Larter in a story about sexed-up Texas roughnecks dodging cartels and capitalism to succeed in the domestic oil business. I, along with 5.2 million viewers tuned in for the debut episode alone, eagerly hung on these charismatic misfits’ machinations, outrageously scripted by showrunner Taylor Sheridan. Landman is a sensation. It’s a fast-paced and gripping show—and that’s all without the knockout punch that SAG award winner Demi Moore brings to her supporting role as the long-suffering wife of Jon Hamm’s oil titan.
Hit Series ‘Landman’ Is So Good, and That’s Even Before You Get to Demi Moore in It
Oil money and soft power, Texas-style
Here’s why you need to watch this show: Boomers will say it’s a throwback to Dallas, a 1980s nighttime soap opera that captivated America with its depiction of big fights and big intrigue among Texas socialites. Landman has a smidge of those fancy people, but its heart is Tommy Norris, Thornton’s scrappy company man who works as an oil company “fixer,” a person who smooths out everything from property disputes to violent attacks on rigs in order to keep the oil and profits flowing. So much happens in each episode, it’s impossible to summarize the plot. Let’s just say that, for a rural-set show that involves lots of driving between far-flung job and home sites (we’re talking Texas, remember), there is a lot of action, for example not one but two kidnappings for Norris alone in the 10-episode first season arc, which concluded on January 12.
Showrunner Sheridan wisely gives viewers of every demographic a way in: Midlife company workers will identify with Norris’s compassionate bond with his crew. Business types will appreciate Monty Miller (Jon Hamm) for wheeling and dealing from his Houston high-rise. Young adults have a stand-in with Cooper Norris, Thornton’s 20-year-old son who’s trying to learn every aspect of the oil business on his own, while teens can enjoy the flirty banter of Thornton’s high school-age daughter who has just joined her father since mom Ali Larter reconciled with him after ditching her billionaire second husband.
If I have any quibble with the show, it’s that pretty much no woman is going to really identify with the broadly drawn females on Landman. Tommy’s wife and daughter spend time on husband and boyfriend seduction, with lots of bending over in swim- and workout attire for the home viewers, chirping through boozy interludes, horny episodes and fantastical adventures. (The mom-daughter duo take nursing home residents on a field trip to a strip club, for example.) The one woman with a job, Tommy Norris antagonist attorney Rebecca Falcone, is parodied for her politics and prissiness, as seen through the show’s conservative political lens.
Don’t get me wrong, these subplots are fun to watch, full of slapstick hijinks and sassy quips, but you don’t really feel that the females are actual real breathing women.
Until the season progresses, that is, and you enjoy more Demi time in the Landman world. When a family crisis occurs late in the season, Moore’s steel magnolia trophy wife character, Cami Miller, becomes vocal, and we see her as full of conflict, nuance and force. The seasoned actress has some big scenes and holds her own with Academy Award winner Thornton, and I completely bought her in the role. Recently, when Moore won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of a washed-up TV star in The Substance, she referred her first Hollywood stardom era being typecast as a “popcorn actress” who could earn money, but not necessarily artistic respect. No more—Landman is a small but shining example of Demi 2.0. Fingers crossed, I’ll be watching for Moore in a shiny dress clutching an Oscars this year, but no matter what, I’m confident she’ll continue her winning performance on Landman.
