- Just Below 50% on Rotten Tomatoes? Why Landman Season 2’s Ratings Lag While Viewership Soars
- Rotten Tomatoes by the numbers: a widening gap
- What critics are actually saying about Season 2
- Why the audience score cratered: two characters, one storyline
- Meanwhile, the audience keeps growing
- The bigger backdrop: oil politics and image‑making
- How Season 2 is structured so far
- What happens next
Just Below 50% on Rotten Tomatoes? Why Landman Season 2’s Ratings Lag While Viewership Soars
If you look only at Rotten Tomatoes, you might assume Landman is in trouble.
As of late November 2025, the series sits at a 52% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, “just above half” for viewers, while critics give it a much friendlier 77% average Tomatometer across both seasons. Season 2, in particular, shows a sharp split: 76% from critics but only about 40% from audiences, with Forbes noting it dipped as low as 38% in the early going.
(Rotten Tomatoes, series and S2 pages; Forbes, Nov. 21, 2025)
Yet the viewership numbers tell a very different story.
Paramount+ says the Season 2 premiere on November 16, 2025 drew over 9.2 million global streaming views in its first two days, making it the most‑watched premiere in Paramount+ history. That represents a 262% increase over the Season 1 debut. On top of that, sampling of Season 1 jumped 320% after the new season dropped, and Landman dominated streaming‑related social media activity on premiere day with about 255,600 interactions, a 489% jump over the first season’s opener.
(BuddyTV, Season 2 premiere report)
So how does a show with a sub‑50% audience score still grow this fast?
To answer that, it helps to separate three things: what critics see, what viewers are angry about, and why many people are watching anyway.
Rotten Tomatoes by the numbers: a widening gap
First, the raw scores.
On the main series page, Landman currently holds:
- 77% Average Tomatometer (critics)
- 52% Average Audience Score (Popcornmeter) based on 1,000+ ratings
(Rotten Tomatoes, series page)
Breaking that down by season:
- Season 1
– 78% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes
– Audience score in the mid‑60s during and after the run. Newsweek pegged it at 65% when only three episodes were out, and Forbes later cited a 64% Season 1 audience mark when comparing to Season 2.
(Rotten Tomatoes S1 page; Newsweek; Forbes)
- Season 2
– 76% critic score from 23 reviews
– 40% audience score from 100+ ratings, with Forbes calling out an earlier 38% figure
(Rotten Tomatoes S2 page; Forbes)
So critically, Landman has barely slipped. Season 2 sits just two percentage points below Season 1 with reviewers.
The audience score, however, has nearly been cut in half from the mid‑60s to around 40.
That disconnect is the heart of the story.
What critics are actually saying about Season 2
The critic side of the ledger is not glowing, but it is broadly positive.
Rotten Tomatoes’ Season 2 critic blurbs show a few consistent patterns:
- Setting and tone
Cary Darling at the Houston Chronicle argues that Landman still works best “in either the dusty Midland/Odessa oil patch or the sleek Fort Worth boardrooms.” He says the show “continues to stumble” when it shifts to Tommy Norris’ chaotic home life.
(Rotten Tomatoes S2 critic blurbs)
- Performances
Several reviewers single out Billy Bob Thornton, who plays landman‑turned‑executive Tommy Norris, as the steady center of the series. Demi Moore’s expanded role as Cami Miller and the arrival of Sam Elliott as Tommy’s estranged father also get positive notes for adding weight and tension.
(Rotten Tomatoes S2 page; People overview)
- Season‑to‑season comparison
Some critics say Season 2 improves on Season 1’s pacing once the slow premiere is out of the way. Reviews from outlets like The Lamplight Review and the Pittsburgh Tribune‑Review praise the show’s momentum after the first episode and argue that the expanded ensemble gives it more to work with.
(Rotten Tomatoes S2 critic blurbs)
- Weak spots
Other critics are less patient. Rebecca Onion at Slate notes that while Moore finally gets substantial material, “the worst parts of Landman have gotten a lot, lot worse.” Salon’s Melanie McFarland says the show straddles an odd line between an earnest drama and “one of the silliest time‑killers you will watch in any given week.”
(Rotten Tomatoes S2 critic blurbs)
Across those perspectives, a rough consensus emerges:
The core concept still works. Thornton still carries the show. The oilfield and corporate plots remain compelling. The big problem lives somewhere else.
That “somewhere else” is where the audience backlash is focused.
Why the audience score cratered: two characters, one storyline
Forbes captured the viewer mood in its November 21 headline:
“Landman Season 2 Audience Scores Tank Thanks to Two Terrible Characters.”
(Forbes)
The article points to Tommy’s wife Angela (Ali Larter) and daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) as the main drivers of audience frustration. It notes that the Rotten Tomatoes audience score slid from 64% for Season 1 to 38% for Season 2, and says “practically all negative reviews mention them.”
You do not have to take Forbes’ word for it. The user reviews on Rotten Tomatoes say much the same thing.
(Rotten Tomatoes S2 audience reviews)
Common themes from viewers include:
- Complaints that Angela and Ainsley are written as “shallow” or “ridiculous,” especially compared with the men operating rigs and boardrooms.
- Frustration that many of their scenes revolve around dated jokes about women’s moods, bodies, or supposed ignorance of the oil business.
- Claims that their storyline feels disconnected from the higher‑stakes plots involving rig accidents, cartel threats, and corporate fights.
Several audience members state they would rate the season much higher “if you took off the two bimbos,” a phrase that appears in different wordings across multiple reviews. Others say the wife and daughter “ruin the show,” and accuse the series of degrading portrayals of women.
It is worth noting that some viewers were already uneasy about this aspect in Season 1. They say they stayed for the oilfield story and Thornton’s performance, but Season 2’s early episodes convinced them to drop the show or even cancel Paramount+.
At the same time, the audience section is not uniformly negative. There are:
- Five‑star reviews calling Landman “one of the best shows to come along in a long time,” praising the writing and cinematography.
- Moderately positive reviews where fans criticize the family subplot but still say they are hooked by the rest of the narrative and intend to keep watching.
(Rotten Tomatoes S2 audience reviews)
That split helps explain how you can have a low average score but very high viewership. The people who dislike the show really dislike it, while another large group is watching enthusiastically.
Meanwhile, the audience keeps growing
To understand why Paramount+ is not panicking about the Popcornmeter, you have to look at the broader numbers.
Season 1: Already a major hit
Landman Season 1 premiered on November 17, 2024, with two episodes, and ran weekly through January 12, 2025, for a ten‑episode first season.
According to Paramount and trade reports:
- The series premiere drew about 5.2 million viewers across Paramount+ and a special Paramount Network airing, making it the biggest global series launch for Paramount+ in two years.
- Collider reports that Season 1 ultimately reached 35 million global streaming viewers, including 14.9 million in its first four weeks. Those numbers outpaced debut seasons of other Sheridan titles like Yellowstone, 1923, Tulsa King, and Special Ops: Lioness.
(TheWrap, premiere ratings; Collider)
By early 2025, Decider noted that Landman had delivered both the most‑watched premiere and most‑watched finale in Paramount+ history, and had become the platform’s most‑watched original series.
(Decider)
That type of performance is why Paramount+ renewed the show quickly and slotted Season 2 for a relatively fast turnaround in November 2025, instead of a multi‑year gap that many series now face.
(People)
Season 2: Record‑breaking start
Season 2 premiered on Sunday, November 16, 2025, with weekly episodes scheduled through January 18, 2026.
(People)
In those first 48 hours, Paramount+ reports:
- 9.2 million+ global streaming views for the premiere episode
- 262% growth versus the Season 1 series debut
- 320% increase in Season 1 sampling, as new viewers went back to start from the beginning
- 255,600 social interactions around Landman on premiere day, a 489% jump from the first season’s opener
(BuddyTV)
The Houston Chronicle summed it up bluntly: Season 2 is “racking up more viewers than the first season.”
So, while the Rotten Tomatoes audience score is hovering near 40%, the actual audience size has never been larger.
The bigger backdrop: oil politics and image‑making
Season 2 of Landman is not just arriving in a vacuum. It is landing at a moment when the U.S. oil and gas industry is feeling newly confident and eager to shape its public image.
Axios reports that the American Petroleum Institute, the main lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, has launched a major ad campaign that runs during Landman broadcasts and features real landmen. API president Mike Sommers has argued that shows like Landman reflect a broader cultural shift in how Americans view the energy sector and fossil fuel development.
(Axios)
Clean‑energy advocates, however, have criticized certain scenes in the show, especially moments that mock or misrepresent wind power and renewable energy. They argue that Landman helps spread flawed information about alternatives to oil and gas.
(Axios)
This political layer matters because it shapes how some viewers and critics interpret the series. For fans aligned with the industry’s point of view, Landman can feel like a rare mainstream depiction of their world. For others, it reads as a glossy endorsement of a controversial business at a time of climate anxiety.
That debate unfolds alongside, and sometimes separate from, the complaints about Angela and Ainsley.
How Season 2 is structured so far
For anyone trying to make sense of the Season 2 reaction, it helps to know what has actually aired and what the season is setting up.
Season 2 picks up after the apparent death of M‑Tex boss Monty Miller at the end of Season 1. Tommy Norris has been promoted to president of M‑Tex Oil, and he is now squeezed from multiple sides: Monty’s widow Cami (Demi Moore), cartel boss Galino (Andy Garcia), and his own increasingly strained family.
(People)
According to the Season 2 episode guide:
(Rotten Tomatoes S2 episode list)
- Episode 1 – “Death and a Sunset” (Nov. 16, 2025):
Tommy adjusts to his new role at M‑Tex as Cami presses her advantage and cartel pressure looms in the background.
- Episode 2 – “Sins of the Father” (Nov. 23, 2025):
Cami is blindsided by an unexpected problem, while Tommy warns Cooper about dangerous entanglements linked to their work.
- Episode 3 – “Almost a Home” (Nov. 30, 2025):
Tommy confronts Cami over money and control, and Cooper’s rising success in the field starts to attract the wrong attention.
- Episode 4 – “Dancing Rainbows” (Dec. 7, 2025):
A tragic crash forces the Norris family to confront some hard truths.
Critics who like the season tend to focus on these elements: the corporate power struggle, the cartel tension, and the generational fight over what oil money does to families.
Critics and audience members who dislike it tend to focus on the portions of those events that play out in the Norris household, especially how Angela and Ainsley respond.
What happens next
As of late November 2025, we have a clear picture of where Landman stands.
- Critics still lean positive, with a 76% Tomatometer for Season 2 and praise for Thornton, the new supporting cast, and the oil‑patch and boardroom storylines.
- Audiences, at least those motivated to rate the show, have dropped their Rotten Tomatoes score to around 40%, driven heavily by anger at two main characters and how the series handles its domestic drama.
- Viewership, however, has never been stronger. The Season 2 premiere set a Paramount+ record with 9.2 million+ views in two days, tripled its own debut audience, and pushed total series reach well past the 35‑million‑viewer mark.
In other words, yes, the audience score is hovering just under that symbolic 50% line. But the show is not fading. It is expanding.
For fans, the key question over the rest of Season 2 is straightforward:
Does Landman rebalance its strengths and weaknesses?
If future episodes lean harder into what viewers and critics agree on — the oilfield, the cartel pressure, and the corporate chess match — while finding a more grounded way to write Angela and Ainsley, that 40% might start to climb. If the show instead doubles down on the parts that audiences already resent, the gap between viewership and audience score could grow even wider.
Either way, the numbers so far make one thing clear. A low Rotten Tomatoes audience score is not stopping people from watching Landman. It may just be telling us exactly what they argue about once the credits roll.
