Season 2, Soundtracks, and a Fandom Frenzy
Sometimes, a single message from a legendary voice can send shockwaves through a fandom. That’s exactly what happened to Landman in January, when none other than Stephen King – yes, THE Stephen King – popped up on Threads with a hot take for the ages. The master of horror, who probably has any living soul’s DMs on “Do Not Disturb,” sat down, watched Taylor Sheridan’s latest TV brainchild, and decided to bless us with his verdict. So, what did King say, and how did Landman respond? Buckle in. This story has more turns than a West Texas gravel road.
The Stephen King Threads Bombshell
It’s not every day the author behind “Carrie,” “The Shining,” and, let’s not forget, “Maximum Overdrive” decides to broadcast his TV taste to the world. Yet, that’s what happened this January. King wrote up a blisteringly honest slice of appraisal for Landman, posting:
> “LANDMAN: 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 sh*t. 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.”
That’s it. Just one post. Yet, in the time it took for that quote to riffle down the internet grapevine, sparks started flying. Suddenly, Landman wasn’t just a hit among fans of Yellowstone or folks who know their roustabouts from their landmen. Now, it had the King of Horror as an official hype man.
Supercharging Landman’s Already Sky-High Numbers
Before King weighed in, Landman was already strutting around like a freshly hired oil rig foreman. The numbers, frankly, looked fantastic. The show’s November 2024 premiere drew in a whopping 5.2 million pairs of eyeballs—that’s a crowd big enough to pack Cowboy Stadium and then some. Just a month later, parametric suits at Paramount+ were grinning wide: 14.9 million global households had queued it up. Landman had quietly become not just big for the network, but the top dog—Paramount+’s most watched launch yet.
Here’s where it gets wild. Stephen King’s post shows up in January—and suddenly, the numbers jump like a prairie rattler. Analytics from multiple trackers flagged a 15% spike in new subscribers watching Landman in the two weeks after King’s blessing. Not only that, but hashtags like #Landman and, even funnier, #KingBlessed, trended across Threads, X, and Facebook. Viewers who’d never heard of a mineral rights catalog came running. Even folks allergic to the “Yellowstone” flavor of TV tuned in, if only to see what made Stephen King tap away on social.
Conversation Changes Fast When King Talks
Next came the critics. Landman had a mixed bag of press in its earliest weeks. Some reviewers grumbled over all the macho posturing, arm-wrestling, and Sheridan’s trademark “fixer” leads. A few even wondered if the oil patch needed more fictional exposure. But then Stephen King’s post landed, and the conversation did a 180. Suddenly, critics and fans wanted to talk about the real backbone of the show: work and workers. King’s words about “ordinary men at work” hit home.
People started debating: Does Landman get the day-to-day oilfield grind right? Does it honor Texas culture or just glam it up? And what about those country music tracks? Stephen King said it, so now, every episode’s playlist became a thing to dissect.
On fan forums like Reddit’s r/LandmanTV, new threads popped up every day:
- “Trying Landman because King — thoughts?”
- “Why do the country needle drops somehow slap harder after Episode 7?”
- “Let’s talk: Is Tommy Norris basically Jack Torrance but with more oil and less axe?”
Official social media accounts saw action too. Landman’s own channels measured a 20% jump in comments, likes, and shares once King’s quote started making the rounds. Amanda in fan management? She’s never slept less.
Behind the Scenes: Writers Take Notice
King’s post didn’t just juice the ratings. Word is, it rattled some cages in the writers’ room. As Paramount+ doubled down with the show’s March season 2 renewal, producers and scribes started thinking out loud. What if we really lean into these “ordinary men at work” stories? How can we drill (pun totally intended) even deeper?
Interviews with folks inside the series revealed an increased interest in exploring what drew King in the first place:
- More authentic depictions of blue-collar life in the Permian Basin.
- Stories about the “unseen” workers: secretaries, cooks, truckers, and the like.
- A soundtrack revamp, based on King’s “great country needle drops” line, with actual pitches out to Texas music legends for season 2.
One writer basically put it this way: “You get a King quote and you take notes. If we didn’t have a country playlist before, we sure do now.” That’s the kind of cosmic feedback loop TV rarely enjoys.
King’s Influence: More Than Hype
We can’t ignore what’s happening in the ripple effect. Stephen King is no stranger to influencing the culture—see every Stranger Things homage for proof. But apart from the streaming stats and music chats, King made a noticeable mark in two big ways.
First, new fans arrived who normally hate “ranch drama” or Texas oil tales. Older viewers who don’t touch crime thrillers watched for the first time. People on Threads compared Landman’s chief “fixer” Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) to King’s own antiheroes: just rougher, oilier, and more Texan.
Second, King motivated the show’s biggest critics to look again. Even professional reviewers softened their initial attitudes, writing that if King found something honest in the working-class dynamic, maybe it deserved a second pass. Basically, he shifted the Overton window on what’s worth discussing.
The Fandom Responds: Fans Get Creative
After King’s post, things went from interesting to straight-up fun. Fans banded together to make playlists replicating the “needle drops” King loved. Some even tried out creative writing—what if Stephen King wrote an episode for Landman? Expect plenty of oil derricks in ominous fog.
Then there’s the memes. Oh, the memes. Social media filled with mashups: Billy Bob Thornton in “The Shining” hallway; Tommy Norris wielding an axe at a pumpjack; and oil-soaked handprints spelling “REDRUM” on a lease agreement. The cross-pollination of King fans and Landman stans was a delight.
Are the Writers Changing Course?
You bet they are. From what’s leaking out of pre-production meetings, season 2 is shaping up to be the show’s most character-driven ride yet. The creators see an opportunity:
- Layer in more real-life oilfield details.
- Elevate the music game, possibly even featuring artists handpicked by fans.
- Throw new kinds of workplace drama into the mix.
And here’s a little rumor: The showrunners may be actively courting Stephen King for a cameo, or at least want to mail him a crate of Barbecue chips as a thank-you. Either way, you can expect a show that acknowledges and riffs off the “King effect” in a big way.
What Happens When King Crowns Your Show?
Nobody saw it coming—least of all the crew and cast, who’ve now had to field “would you survive in a King novel?” questions at every panel. Landman had plenty of horsepower going into 2025, but Stephen King showed up with an extra tank of nitro. Viewership shot up. Critics changed their tune. The writers started chasing authenticity with renewed zeal.
Season 2 isn’t going to just chase what worked—they’ll dig deeper, crank up the country, and likely try to surprise even King himself. As for the fans? They’re loving every moment of it. Here’s a toast to unexpected fandom crossovers and the chaos that follows when King himself declares a show “gotta like that.” Let’s see what happens out in the Permian next.
