Reviving Landman: Why Taylor Sheridan Must Restore Its Original Crime Thriller Essence
By Published May 10, 2026, 4:48 PM EDT Greg is a Lead TV Writer & Critic at Screen Rant with expertise in new streaming releases. He's published over 2800 articles at SR, including weekly recommendation guides and dozens of reviews on . He previously worked in Development at ABC Television & Lawrence Bender Productions.
Greg majored in Film Production at Chapman University's Dodge College. Greg also has years of broadcast TV production experience at major networks such as NBC, TNT, and ESPN. He currently lives in Greater Boston. Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
Taylor Sheridan must repair season 2's biggest thematic issue as early as its season 3 premiere if the series hopes to retain its season 1 acclaim. While Landman became a breakout success in 2026, led by one of the best duos on streaming at the time, Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Hamm, Landman season 2 carried on in a slightly different direction, giving some supporting characters more of a spotlight, while ultimately falling into repetitive tropes in other regards. Nevertheless, Landman is still one of Sheridan's most-watched hits.
As far as Sheridan's slate of Paramount+ original series go on Rotten Tomatoes, critic and audience scores are hardly ever the same, and oftentimes viewers will strongly disagree with the general critic consensus. For example, critics attest that Landman season 2 marked an improvement from season 1, while viewers would disagree, based on season 2's RT audience score of just 48%. While I'm a critic myself, I'm leaning more towards the audience's perspective of Landman season 2, as I found it to lose some of its spark and edge, mainly because it lost its core crime thriller element from season 1, which was overtaken by indulgent and drawn-out melodrama in season 2.
Taylor Sheridan Needs To Bring Back Landman's OG Crime Thriller Elements
Although , I found most of the season to be sluggish, repetitive, and missing the intensity of its debut season. Hamm's absence was certainly noted as the rage-fueled Monty Miller, and despite Sam Elliot's majestic presence, he didn't exactly fill the shoes that Hamm left, as he was deeply lost in his own melancholy for the entirety of the season. At the same time, an increased role for Demi Moore's Cami, who took over as M-Tex's president in the season 2 premiere, got off to a formidable start, only for her to prove she was in over her head by the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Andy Garcia's duplicitous cartel figure, Gallino, might have dropped the hammer on Thornton's Tommy Norris with the full force of his drug empire. Instead, he mostly plays softball with Tommy, more determined to establish himself as a legitimate businessman than to get his hands dirty by calling on his dangerous connections. These significant character decisions combine to suggest an intentional deviation from the core crime thriller themes that made up the first season and got Tommy kidnapped in the season 1 finale. Without these elements, however, Landman became more unfocused, sprawling, and drenched in its own sappy melodrama that arguably amounted to a giant step back for the series.
Landman Season 3 Must Avoid Reverting To Season 2's Aimless Melodrama
While Tommy's leaving M-Tex in the season 2 finale was a great development that tied things up quite nicely, has really got to reintroduce a sense of danger and risk that doesn't entirely take place over heated discussions in shiny office buildings. Landman has been called Sheridan's modern version of Dallas, and season 2 proves why with its over-investment in what can feel like soap opera-level conflicts at times between characters.
The first half of Landman season 2 got into Tommy's complicated history with his father, T.L., and thoughtfully revealed elements of his backstory. The second half, however, started to drag these subplots through the mud, getting away from the M-Tex drama far too often, which admittedly became frustrating to some viewers. Landman season 3 will likely dive even deeper into the family dynamics of the Norris' now that they are all officially in business together, but hopefully, the story will stick more to the central plot than veer into the emotionally charged asides, unless, of course, they serve a key narrative purpose.
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All things considered, Landman season 2 was an overall success, and season 3 should retain its proven and dedicated viewership. Sheridan, however, would arguably enhance the series beyond its season 2 effort by adding some exciting crime or action-driven aspects to the series. Remember when Tommy sent a message to the cartel by staging a military training exercise during a drug run in Landman season 1, episode 8? Or when Tommy got revenge against Manuel and Antonio for hospitalizing Cooper in season 1, episode 6? Intense scenes like these seem to have been forgotten in season 2, and Landman season 3 will be better if it calls back to its season 1 highlights.
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