‘A Lot of It Is Very Accurate’: How Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Landman’ Took Inspiration from a Podcast
A podcast host worked closely with the show’s creator—and says it gets a lot right
Everyone knows that Taylor Sheridan took inspiration from his own life growing up in Cranfills Gap, Texas, to create the Dutton family and all of the drama that follows them around in his hit western show Yellowstone. So, it only makes sense that he did that with some of his other shows as well, including the hit Texas oil drama Landman. Below, we look at where the idea came from and how the people involved in the real-life story truly feel about their story being used for entertainment. Read on for more.
What is ‘Landman’ about?
Landman is a modern-day family drama set in West Texas. It follows Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) as he tries to make his oil company the best and most lucrative in the business. It currently has one season, with 10 episodes, and also stars Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph, Demi Moore, Jon Hamm and more.
The show is currently in the middle of filming its second season, and according to co-creator Christian Wallace, Moore will have a much bigger role in it.
“There is a lot more story left to tell with Cami [Moore],” he told Variety, “Taylor has big plans, that’s all I’m going to say.”
And while Moore herself hasn’t officially commented on that development, she has spoken quite openly and honestly about the show in the past, saying, “It’s a very interesting world in the boomtown of Fort Worth, Texas. It’s kind of this subculture that we haven’t seen before, which is what I think Taylor does so well.”
“I play an oil tycoon’s wife… lots of nice clothes. The substance of it is really exploring the issues around oil, petroleum, on all sides…and then of course—as Taylor does so well—there’s delicious drama within and family dynamics.”
As of now, the details surrounding the plot and release date of Landman Season 2 remain unknown, but the anticipation for it is palpable and we can’t wait to see what’s in store.
How ‘Boomtown’ inspired Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Landman’
Despite how wild some of the plots might seem, Landman is actually based on the Texas Monthly podcast Boomtown.
According to the show’s bio, it’s about “a rugged corner of West Texas, billionaire wildcatters and roughnecks are fueling an oil boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics. This modern-day gold rush has sent both big oil companies and scrappy start-ups scrambling to secure a piece of the action.” It’s hosted by Wallace, who helped develop and create Landman.
“A lot of it is very accurate,” Wallace told Deadline. “Some of it we had to kind of squeeze together to have it make sense for our characters. And it’s funny, it depends on who you ask. My uncle, who has worked 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.”
“Taylor [Sheridan] and I were in the writers’ room. We spent about two years talking about the show, the characters, the storyline before any scripts were written. Taylor asked me to write a spec script based on the stuff we’d been talking about,” he continued. “I went and did that, and he told me, ‘Okay, you’re going to be the co-creator of the show.’ We would talk about scenes, dialogue, things like that. And then Taylor would actually go and write the episodes. I was on set throughout the duration of filming to help with anything I could help with, whether that was rig stuff or costumes or dialogue or whatever.”
Boomtown only has one season, and while a lot of it might have been accurate, Sheridan did make it more dramatic to appeal to a larger audience.
Wanting to give Boomtom a listen? Click here!
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