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NEED TO KNOW
Season 2 of Landman premiered on Paramount+ on Nov. 16
The series — created by Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace — stars Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Hamm
Landman is based on the Texas Monthly podcast Boomtown, which dives into the historic oil boom in West Texas
Taylor Sheridan'sLandmanis back!
Season 2 of the Paramount+ series returned on Nov. 16, one year after the series first premiered. StarringBilly Bob ThorntonandJon Hamm,Landmanis based on the 2019Texas MonthlypodcastBoomtown. The 12-episode audio show hosted byChristian Wallace, who also co-createdLandmanwith Sheridan, "takes you to the heart of the historic oil boom that is playing out in West Texas."
"Boomtownwas a labor of love for all of us who worked on the podcast, and nobody could have hosted but Christian, a West Texas native with roughneck experience and fantastic narrative chops," executive producer Megan Creydt toldTexas Monthlyin September 2024. "It's a thrill to see this story and world in Taylor Sheridan's hands and to know Christian has been so integral to a series we're all going to be glued to."
Landman, which joins a long list of Western shows created by Sheridan, is led by Thornton, Hamm,Demi Moore,Andy GarcíaandMichael Peña.
Here's everything to know about the Paramount+ seriesLandmanand the recent history that inspired it.
IsLandmanbased on a true story?
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Landmanis based on theTexas MonthlypodcastBoomtown. The show, released in late 2019, was hosted by former journalist Christian Wallace, who grew up in West Texas and spent a year after college working as a "roughneck" (a member of an oil rig crew).
A major oil boom in 2019 prompted Wallace to write the article "The Permian Basin Is Booming With Oil. But at What Cost to West Texans?" It struck a chord with readers and eventually morphed into a 12-episode podcast.
Boomtownplunges into the history of the Permian Basin — located in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico — and how it became one of the world's most productive oil fields. Wallace also investigated the effects of the boom — interviewing roughnecks about the dangers of working on a rig, ranchers who were being exposed to highly potent greenhouse gases and even teachers at Permian High School, whose classroom sizes have become unmanageable due to the influx of families moving to the area.
"I'm from out there. I worked out there, so I knew the people, and I wanted to tell their story in a way I'd never seen or read before," Wallace told his alma materTexas State Universityin May 2022.
As for translating the podcast to television,Boomtownexecutive producer Creydt toldCBS News Texasthat viewers are in good hands with Sheridan.
"Taylor Sheridan is a Texan himself. He understands this world very well. I imagine we will see a lot of overlap with what we [heard] in the podcast," she said in September 2024.
The creators also kept the show as precise as possible to the true events, with Wallace tellingDeadlinein January 2025 that much of the show is "very accurate."
"Some of it we had to kind of squeeze together to make it make sense for our characters," he said. "And it's funny, it depends on who you ask. My uncle who works in the oil field for the last 30 years will nitpick every little thing. But I think for the most part, it's safe to say you get a decent sense of what it's like working in oil and gas out there."
What isLandmanabout?
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Set in modern-day West Texas,Landmanfollows crisis executive Tommy Norris, played by Thornton, who is trying to secure land and manage his crew in an oil patch in the Permian Basin. Tommy works for Hamm's character, Monty Miller, an oil industry titan otherwise known as a wildcatter.
"Oil and gas industry makes 3 billion dollars a day in pure profit, and it's only getting bigger. But before any of that money is made, you gotta secure the land then manage the people. That's my job," Tommy said inLandman's first official trailer.
"First part is pretty simple, it's the second part that can get you killed. Getting oil out of the ground is the most dangerous job in the world," he adds.
Landman's all-star cast also includes Moore as Monty's wife Cami Miller,Ali Larteras Thornton's wife, Angela Norris, and Peña as Armando, an oil crewman.
"It's a tremendous cast and it's been super fun to work on," Hamm told PEOPLE in March 2024. "It's a story very well told, and I think it's an interesting take on what happens when it comes to how we get the stuff that makes our cars and our lives and our planes and everything in our modern world go."
Where wasLandmanfilmed?
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Landmanwas mostly filmed in the Fort Worth, Texas, area. This is also where Sheridan filmed scenes for a few of his other TV series, including1883,YellowstoneandLawmen: Bass Reeves.
While shootingLandman, fans spotted Thornton out and about on several occasions, according toWFAA. While filming, he reportedly visited a popular Tex-Mex restaurant, Joe T. Garcia's, multiple times.
Sheridan needed several background and supporting actors forLandman, and Aschten Aguilar, a local West Texan and former roughneck, was among them. He shared on theBest of Midland Texaspodcast in April 2024 that he brought his real-life experience to the set.
"You can always tell who has worked in the oil field by the way they park their truck," Aguilar said. "It's instilled in us that you have to take that time to pull out and reverse in. Your first move has to be forward. That's instilled in us from day one when you get a work truck. It's a culture thing."
Where can I watchLandman?
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The first season ofLandmanis available to stream onParamount+. The second season premiered on Nov. 16, with a weekly release schedule.
Read the original article onPeople