‘Landman’ Co-Creator on More Seasons and His Trust in Taylor Sheridan: “He’s One of One”

Landman is back for season two, but if you ask co-creator Christian Wallace, the oil boom drama is just getting started.

“We barely skimmed the surface in season one,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter of the West Texas-set series starring Billy Bob Thornton that has become a mega-hit for Paramount+. “And again, after season two, I feel like we’re still just skimming the surface.”

Landman took off to become the most-watched original series for the streamer with its first season. Wallace says instead of being paralyzed by pressure, they leaned into what worked the first time and then went deeper with the show’s second season, which premiered on Sunday. Joining the core cast of Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph and Jacob Lofland in season two are Sam Elliot (marking an 1883 full-circle moment with co-creator Taylor Sheridan), and elevated storylines for returning stars Andy Garcia and Demi Moore.

Below, Wallace talks all about what’s in store for season two and those characters, while also weighing in on the seismic news about prolific hit-maker Sheridan’s new deal (and eventual jump from Paramount to NBCUniversal), how they tackle the oil industry without getting political, and his hopes for many, many more seasons of Landman.

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Landman season one was a major hit. Whatever your hopes are, you can never predict that kind of resonance. When you returned to make season two, what was the pressure like for you?

I don’t think there was pressure to out-do season one. It was more like, “Let’s just keep telling a good story.” We got to know these characters in season one, and now we get to spend more time with them in season two. We get to raise the stakes. They are so fun to be around. I feel like we barely skimmed the surface. This world is so rich — West Texas, oil and gas, Fort Worth, the upstairs downstairs of this whole thing. It’s such fertile soil for storytelling. And even after season two, again, I feel like we’re still just skimming the surface. Our cast has added so much depth to the characters. They know them so well now that they make it easy to tell an entertaining story.

Your star Billy Bob Thornton recently said he’s signed on to Landman for four or five years. How many seasons is Landman? Is it five… could it be 10?

Well, there are a lot of forces well beyond my control and pay grade that determine all that. But, I think it’s as long as Taylor [Sheridan, co-creator and showrunner] wants. It’s well, well, beyond my pay grade, but as long as everyone’s still having fun and the story is continuing in a worthwhile way, then, sure, I’d love for it to go as long as the story permits. There’s a lot of runway left.

Big Taylor Sheridan news came out ahead of Landman‘s return about his new NBCUniversal deal [Sheridan will be leaving Paramount for NBCUniversal, with a film deal to begin next year and TV deal starting in 2028]. How did you react when you saw the news, and do you know if it will impact future Landman seasons?

I don’t think it’s affecting anything in the immediate. Right now, we’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing. The thing is, I trust Taylor, and he cares deeply about his stories and the characters he’s written. We all put ourselves in his hands in this process. He’s the showrunner, he’s a writer. He’s the reason why we’re all here. So I’m just going to trust the process in all this, you know?

Sheridan is working on so many shows, and some of them have had changes behind the scenes. Landman hasn’t. What’s your secret to working with one of the busiest creatives in show business and Landman‘s consistent set?

I can safely say I’ve never been around a busier person. But I mean, he’s Taylor. He’s one of one. I just saw him last week. He was acting in [another Paramount+ show from Sheridan] Lioness, and he’s in character with a huge gun, bulletproof vest and tactical gear. He’s doing his thing. Then he gets off set and goes to a gala for Sam Elliot, who is winning an award in Texas. He’s just a constant force of motion. Landman is like one planet in his galaxy, but it’s a fun one to be on, and it’s the one I know.

It’s a unique moment in media for a showrunner like Taylor to have this universe of shows, and it’s so diverse. I mean, to have Lioness, Tulsa King, Yellowstone, Landman? What a legacy right there. Not to mention Mayor of Kingstown and the others. Yeah, he’s one of one.

Landman is back with season two, introducting Sam Elliot and giving viewers more already with Demi Moore as Cami Miller. Your quote last season about plans to elevate her character in season two went viral, because viewers wanted to see more from her in the show. How will Cami be cleaning up the mess left for her after her oil tycoon husband Monty’s (Jon Hamm) death, and how do you use her more in season two?

In the first episode, at first, you’re like, “How is she gonna handle this?” Then she gives that speech [at her oil company MTex’s business luncheon] and you’re like, “All right, she’s got some real fire in her.” But it’s gonna be tricky. She is now swimming with the sharks — they’re vicious, and they’re coming after her. Because Monty wasn’t the nicest guy. You can’t if you are the biggest independent oil producer in West Texas. She’s been adjacent to this world for so long. Her and Monty were a really good couple, but she wasn’t the one having to make these decisions. Now she’s trying to find both her own authority while also trying to trust Tommy [Thornton] to help her navigate that.

That’s one of the most interesting parts of her conflict — trying to determine when to trust someone [Tommy] who maybe knows more, and when to trust her own instincts and follow them. Watching her navigate that is one of the most interesting parts of Cami’s character this season.

Ali Larter and Michelle Randolph’s characters, Angela and Ainsley, are fan favorites who initially sparked debates and vocal opinions. This season there’s already more sexy Facetimes, more cheerleading, more over-the-top drama and lines from them. How much fun was it to lean into what works with Angela and Ainsley?

Yes to steering into all of that. I’ve been approached by so many people who say, “I know an Angela,” or “I know an Ainsley.” Big Texas women, big Texas personalities — big hair, big everything. The show can veer so far into the danger and drama of the oil field, and then in the next scene, you have Angela and Ainsley like two balls of sunshine bopping around the old folks’ home. That levity mixed with the gravitas of some of the drama is such a unique thing about this show. I think it took people a little while to understand that, but once the audience got on board, I think they were like, “I like how dynamic this is.”

So it was about being able to know that worked in season one, and then plow straight ahead into all of those things we loved and go deeper further, funnier, in some aspects. Michelle and Ali just really, really own those characters — when they set foot on set for this season, it was like: They’re back. They took off. They have so many great scenes this season, it’s a blast to watch.

Taylor Sheridan was sparked by Yellowstone prequel 1883 to write Landman for Billy Bob Thornton [who made a 1883 cameo], and now 1883 star Sam Elliot joins Landman season two in the key role of Tommy’s (Thornton) father, T.L. Was Sam always someone you talked about bringing in, and what will we learn from meeting Tommy’s family this season?

I know Taylor has so much respect for Sam. What Sam Elliott did on 1883 is an all-time great performance. Taylor loves working with actors he loves and respects. He uses them over and over again; it’s a really cool thing to have this ensemble that he uses. Taylor is, among many other things he’s good at, so good at casting. So of course it made sense for Sam to step into this role and into this world. Any time you get actors at the caliber of Billy and Sam playing off of each other, not to be cliché, but that’s when magic happens. There are scenes between the two of them this season where we’d all be at the monitors tearing up like, “Are you seeing this?” Even after the fourth or fifth take. I’m just so honored Sam is a part of this show.

Change is upon the characters in season two with financial elevation and more power, and that causes early drama with Tommy and Angela, and also with their son Cooper (Jacob Lofland) and his girlfriend Ariana (Paulina Chávez). We hear news updates on the radio about the state of the oil market. What political line did you draw by setting this under the current administration, but not mentioning Trump? How do you make the show timely without hitting viewers over the head with politics?

It’s interesting. I don’t think a show like this has ever exited, definitely not one about oil and gas, like this. In Dallas, you see the upstairs side of things. The business suits and the C-suites. But this is a look at the more dynamic version, like the roughnecks out in the patch and the offices in Dallas and Fort Worth. It’s grounded in that reality. The current, contemporary reality of the oil and gas market. But we don’t want to be beholden to what the price of oil is on any given Wednesday. We’re alongside that reality while not trying to be a part of it. So while it informs everything we do in the story, we’re not beholden to who’s in office or what the market is doing at that time. It informs us, rather than dictates.

Landman is in a solid cadence, coming out one year after season one. Do you imagine you would turn around a third season at the same pace?

I think it’s the plan. We hate to make people wait too long, and we’re all excited to get back and do it again. After we wrap, a couple weeks later, we’re like, “Dang, I miss everybody” — cast and crew. We have such a great crew. I think we’re ready to get back to it as soon as we can.

Are you feeling good about season three renewal at this moment?

Of course I am. I’m really looking forward to it. To clarify, there’s no official green light yet for season three. It’s just me with fingers crossed.

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Landman‘s first episode of season two is now streaming on Paramount+, which new episodes releasing weekly on Sundays.