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On Landman, Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) is always either muttering an exasperated quip, a strangely profound observation, or taking a puff of a cigarette. Tommy, the titular landman, has the not-so-glamorous role of procuring leases for oil extraction, managing a crew of roughnecks—a slang for oil rig workers—and dealing with the countless crises that the dangerous industry presents. He’s also a devoted family man, who loves—not without frustration—his aging father T.L. (Sam Elliot), his fiery ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter), his ditsy but kind-hearted daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), and his son Cooper (Jacob Lofland) who is also making his way in the industry.
Landman is loosely based on journalist Christian Wallace’s podcast Boomtown, which was put out by Texas Monthly in 2019. The podcast was an exploration by Wallace, a West Texas native who had a brief stint working in oil and gas, of the oil boom in Texas’ Permian Basin region, where laborers and billionaires alike clambered to be a part of the upswing.
Co-created with Taylor Sheridan, who also made the hit series Yellowstone, the pair just wrapped their second season of the high drama Texan show. When we reunite with Tommy in this latest season, he’s tired as ever, and working alongside Cami Miller (Demi Moore), who is now the acting president of M-Tex following the death of her husband Monty (Jon Hamm) in the last season.
Primarily filmed in the state of Texas, the first season took us to some classic lone star state landmarks including downtown Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Midland, Odessa, and the iconic West Texas Ratliff Stadium (the inspiration behind Friday Night Lights) by way of long truck rides and the M-Tex PJ. To learn more about the real-life inspirations for the series as well as the actual filming locations in this season, we spoke to Landman’s co-creator Christian Wallace.
Congratulations on wrapping Season 2 of Landman. Before we talk about the locations from this season, I wanted to ask about your background. You grew up in Andrews in West Texas. What was that like?
Andrews is a small town in West Texas near Midland and Odessa, which is kind of the main population hub. It’s a town of about 10,000, give or take. It grows a little bit with booms and shrinks with busts. Oil and gas is the backbone of the economy there, so almost everybody has a family member who works in oil and gas.
