Taylor Sheridan's Landman Will Explore A Real-World Oil Problem In Season 2

Prepare yourselves, "Landman" fans; season 2 is closer than you think. The latest series from the mind of "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan, "Landman" became an instant hit for the streamer upon its premiere in 2024. Indeed, viewers are now fully engaged in this oil drama, which stars Billy Bob Thornton ("Armageddon") as a Texas oil man named Tommy Norris. And though the show is a work of fiction, it very much takes inspiration from the real world. To that end, a real-life issue plaguing the oil industry is going to have an impact on the show's second season.

"Landman" was inspired by the podcast "Boomtown," offering up a story all about the roughnecks and billionaires who are reshaping our climate, economy, and geopolitics. But again, the series itself is ultimately a work of narrative fiction. Be that as it may, co-creator Christian Wallace has explained to Entertainment Weekly that the issue of oil theft is going to be brought to the forefront in "Landman" season 2. Here's what he had to say about it:

"Just this past year, there's been a lot of oil theft — people stealing oil from tanks and then selling it on the black market — and some of that has been directly connected to the cartels out of Mexico. It's an ongoing issue we have. We've dramatized aspects of it and really played it up for the narrative drama of it all, but so many of the things in the show are based on these kernels of reality, and that is one of them that's continuing to play out right now."

To Wallace's point, Texas lawmakers created a task force to specifically target oil field threats, per The Texas Tribune. As he also pointed out, he and Sheridan aren't necessarily going for hyper-realism here. They're taking something that is actually happening and playing it up for the sake of drama. "Landman" is certainly not a documentary, after all.

"Landman" is largely filmed in Texas in addition to taking place there, so even though the show fictionalizes the lives of real-world oil mavens, it's also going for a certain degree of authenticity at the same time. As Wallace went on to explain, he can envision this specific crime element playing out on a longer timeline as the series progresses (potentially in season 3 and beyond):

"I think that's a storyline that will continue to develop because part of the actual oil and gas industry's challenges right now is the theft, the crime, and the black market aspects that come into play out in West Texas. We try to bring in these elements of truth that inform an entertaining story, but are also insightful of what it's like to actually work out in oil and gas."

As of right now, very little has been confirmed about season 2. We know that Demi Moore's Cami Miller is going to have a bigger role. Beyond that, much is up in the air, but Wallace's comments help shed some light on what viewers can expect. Besides the crime of it all, he also revealed that there will be plenty of fighting when the show returns — it just won't all be of the physical sort:

"They're not always physical; some of them are very emotional or very danger-provoking. There's always something lurking that [Tommy's] wary of around the corner. Even with his family, every decision they make he has to then deal with, too. So, there are all kinds of fights in the world. Some are in your own head, even."

"Landman" season 2 will begin streaming on November 16, 2025, on Paramount+.