Taylor Sheridan is back, and this time, the modern Western maverick aims his focus on the battlegrounds of oil-rich West Texas. His new tale, Landman, crashes onto screens with enough grit to rival any classic drama, offering up a world where corporate power, blue-collar sweat, and personal demons all collide beneath the big Texas sky. The first episode, which dropped on November 17, 2024, goes big – blending danger, family tension, and raw ambition in an hour that smells like diesel, dust, and adrenaline.
Let’s walk through that wild opening act. The oil fields never looked more dramatic.
Scene One: Cartels, Contracts, and Calm in a Crisis
Forget easing in. Landman throws us into the thick of things, literally. We meet Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) not behind a desk, but tied up and blindfolded in a hostile shack, controlled by a Mexican cartel. Tommy somehow stays cool throughout. He first asks to use the bathroom—English fails to get the message across, so he tries Spanish. That lands him a punch in the gut. Tension? High already.
Soon, the cartel boss enters. Tommy argues with him—next comes the first big reveal: while the cartel may claim the land above, M-Tex Oil (Tommy’s employer) owns the mineral rights below, thanks to a 1993 deal. That’s West Texas for you: what’s down deep might matter more than what’s on the surface. Tommy’s calm negotiation skills shine; he convinces the cartel to accept terms—M-Tex drills, cartel stays out of the way, trouble stays minimal on both sides.
It’s clear from the get-go. Tommy’s no stranger to dangerous ground. He lives for it—or maybe, he’s got no choice.
Time Jump: Disaster on the Highway
Next, Sheridan wastes no time pulling us six months forward. And what a way to do it. We’re out in the barren scrubland. A plane lands on a dirt road, ready for a quick drug shipment. A van pulls up. The transfer just starts when—bam! Out of nowhere, an oil tanker barrels down the road and smashes into the van and the plane. The wreck explodes in a ball of fire. Drug runners, drivers, everyone dies on the spot. This single incident ties the region’s shadowy business—oil and drugs—together fast. Sheridan uses spectacle, sure, but he’s got a point, too. In West Texas, danger’s just waiting in every unexpected moment.
Meet Cooper Norris: The Rookie’s Tough Day
With that chaos as our backdrop, we shift focus. Tommy’s son, Cooper Norris, steps into his first day in the oil fields. The job’s no cakewalk. He joins a motley crew: Luis, Armando, and Elvio—roughnecks with lots of experience and a brash sense of humor. They don’t take it easy on the rookie.
First, they hand Cooper a classic “new guy” prank—send him to find a “Tucker valve,” which doesn’t exist. Embarrassing, but harmless. Later, Cooper’s climb up the rig nearly ends in disaster; he slips and almost falls. The crew’s attitude changes just a little—he’s risking his neck, so maybe he’s one of them after all.
When the workday ends, Luis invites Cooper over for a family dinner. Cooper, nervous but honored, gets a taste of their world. He bonds with their kids, eats home-cooked food, and dips his toes into the close-knit but tough culture that defines oil country. These scenes don’t just build character—they spin the world, making it feel authentic, lived-in, rough and full of little mercies.
Tommy: Spinning Plates and Dousing Fires
Meanwhile, the story follows Tommy back in Midland-Odessa, where disaster never waits long to ring the phone. He learns about the highway explosion. The airplane that blew up? It was stolen weeks ago. The dead? More bodies feeding into the region’s reputation for lawlessness.
Sheriff Walt Joeberg drops in, looking for answers, and maybe a little blame. Tommy tries to ease things, explaining his side, but it’s tense. He’s walking a corporate tightrope: keep the oil flowing, fend off PR disasters, and make sure the cops don’t jump at M-Tex’s throat. Every scene hints at the weight bearing down on Tommy, but he never bows to it.
Then he faces a more personal task—his ex-wife Angela swings by, reminding him it’s his turn with their daughter, Ainsley. The two lovingly bicker, flirting in their own strange, fractured way. There’s old history there—conflict, affection, and the push-pull of co-parenting and old wounds.
At work, Tommy gets heat from his boss, Monty Miller, who’s not interested in excuses. Anderson explains the public won’t accept M-Tex’s involvement in anything criminal, even by accident. He needs Tommy to fix things—now.
Teenagers, Awkward Talks, and Dad Trouble
Tommy’s daughter Ainsley arrives, boyfriend in tow. Dakota Loving looks like every Texas high school football star—bold, brash, and clearly the apple of Ainsley’s eye. There’s no hiding from PDA in this house. But the real punch comes when Ainsley sits down her father and spells out—plain as day—how she and Dakota figure out their romantic life. She talks about her birth control. She puts it right on the table.
Few bits crackle quite like this. Tommy tries to respond without flying off the handle, but Ainsley’s forthrightness leaves him squirming. Generational gaps and old-fashioned discomfort run strong in this West Texas home.
When the Fields Turn Deadly
Back in the fields, Cooper and his new crew face the day’s big job: fix a temperamental oil well. Luis, Armando, and Elvio trust Cooper a little more now, so they let him help. But the job goes sideways fast. Using the wrong wrench, they rush a fix. Gas hisses out—a bad sign everyone ignores for a few seconds too long. Cooper finally realizes the danger and races to find the right tool. But Luis, not waiting, starts banging on the pipe, trying to seal it up.
Suddenly, a spark ignites escaping gas. The explosion rips the platform. Cooper is thrown away. Flames and shrapnel fill the screen, chaos erupts. When the dust settles, Cooper survives—but his coworkers aren’t so lucky. The emotional gut-punch lands hard: some jobs don’t just stink, they kill.
Oil, Blood, and the Texas Sun: First Impressions
So, what makes Landman’s opener tick? A few things stand out.
- Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy is pure lightning in a bottle. He handles crisis with charm and steel. He fumbles at home, showing the cracks that make him real.
- Sheridan’s direction wastes nothing. The pace is sharp—quiet moments, then a lurch into chaos, then right back into gritty realism.
- The supporting cast flashes with energy. Cooper is earnest, eager, and clearly in over his head. The roughnecks have edge and heart. Angela and Ainsley bring a mess of emotion and modernity to a world still clinging to tradition.
Sights, sounds, and scents bleed off the screen. We get fields full of steel, sweat, and risk. At home, anxiety hovers between generations. There’s bravado everywhere, but even the toughest can’t dodge fate for long.
What’s Brewing Under the Surface?
By the final shot, it’s clear: this isn’t just a show about oil. It’s about lines—legal, familial, and moral. The surface might look settled, but just beneath, everything churns and shifts.
Tommy Norris stands with a foot in both worlds. He faces down criminals, then returns home to battle hormones and parenting anxiety. Out in the fields, Cooper must quickly learn—one mistake, and the earth swallows you up.
Sheridan’s debut for Landman wrings drama from every angle—law, family, the accident-prone chaos of West Texas business. If this is just the first chapter, fans better hold on tight. This oil-soaked ride looks, for now, unforgiving and absolutely electric.
