A modern tale of finding fortune in the world of West Texas oil rigs. Watch writer/director Taylor Sheridan’s most popular movies and TV series on IMDb, ranked by user ratings. The industry operates, acting as a middleman between exploration companies and landowners.
Typically, a landman’s job is to negotiate and make deals with landowners who own mineral rights to lease those rights to the company they represent. Essentially, they manage the land and secure the leases so they can drill for oil and gas. Like a foreman on a construction site, they build roads, build housing for workers (man camps), assemble the excavation machinery, and drill the well themselves, especially in remote locations.
Since Sicerio, I’ve been involved in everything that the Sheridan name is associated with. Considering what he’s capable of, as evidenced by his incredible scripts and the films he’s made in the past, I have to admit that after four episodes of Landman, I’m a little disappointed. Maybe it’s because I had very high expectations, as it also introduces all the main cast, but also the introduction to the lifestyle of a boomtown after a surprising and expanding foray into ranch life.
But I feel like Sheridan is having a little too much fun by including lavish scenes with Tommy’s ex-wife Ali Larter and his flamboyant daughter Michelle Randpolh, which was excellent in 1923. Sheridan is at his best when he’s pushing the action drama accelerator, as seen in this second season of Special Ops: Lioness or any of his previous dramas. It’s frustrating to know what he’s capable of, but after only four episodes, I still have hope that he’ll use Jon Hamm more and get the show off the ground.
I hope this isn’t another project for its own entertainment value like Tulsa King season 2, which becomes a comedy punctuated by brief moments of high drama (I loved the first season). I know Sheridan has his own agency and runs a lot of shows, but I wish he’d focus on quality over quantity because this show has a chance to be great if it gets serious.