Why Billy Bob Thornton Was Shocked That Landman Became So Popular

Billy Bob Thornton being a cocky sumbitch for ten episodes of oil industry-based melodrama sounds like it might have a certain appeal. But one of the biggest shows on TV? That seemed like a stretch even to the people who made "Landman" — star Billy Bob Thornton included. The 70-year-old revealed that he and his collaborators initially thought their Texas-based oil drama would be limited in its appeal, but were shocked to see audiences far beyond Middle America embrace the series.

Many of us will have had the experience of suddenly realizing that a lot of people were watching "Yellowstone" without directly knowing any of those people. Who were these mystery audience members who were turning Taylor Sheridan's neo-Western into one of the biggest shows on TV? Unless you happened to be a conservative-leaning dad in one of the so-called flyover states, you were likely mystified by the whole thing. But by the time it reached its fifth and final season, there was simply no denying that "Yellowstone" had transcended the red-state dad demographic to become nothing short of a small-screen juggernaut.

Now, Sheridan has done it all over again with "Landman," the oil drama inspired by a podcast that hardcore fans of the show need to check out. Sheridan's latest series has become the number one Paramount+ original of all time, and one of the biggest shows of 2024-25, racking up an average of 15.8 million viewers across five weeks. Once again, it's the show that nobody you know is watching but which somehow consistently brings in mass audiences. And once again, it's transcended its obvious target demographic to become a show with mass appeal. Why? How? Whatever you do, don't ask Billy Bob Thornton because he's mostly just as mystified as you.

2025 was a huge year for Taylor Sheridan and "Landman" was a big part of that. The show was already a hit after its first season, but the second run of episodes, which saw veteran star Sam Elliott join the cast as Thomas "T. L." Norris, father to Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris, sealed the oil drama's standing as one of the most popular series on TV.

In an interview with Variety Thornton was asked why "Landman" appeals to such a broad demographic and revealed that he was as surprised as anyone. "It's interesting because we were very surprised it became an international hit," he explained. "We thought it was going to appeal to Middle America, maybe not even the coasts. Now we have fans from Africa, South America, Canada, Australia, England, wherever it is."

As surprised as he was, Thornton did have some thoughts as to why the Lone Star State-set drama resonated so widely. "I think a lot of it is because the characters are unabashedly who they are," he opined. "I think people like it that we just say and do whatever we do. There's no walking on eggshells because we're worried of what someone's going to think. I think sometimes people like to see that freedom if they don't have it in their own lives."

Then, there's the actual oil industry aspect of the show, which is surprisingly realistic even while most of the series matches "Yellowstone" for its pure soapyness. "You're taking a peek behind the curtain of a business that's not normally portrayed," added Thornton, which is true — though there are plenty of shows like "Landman" waiting to be discovered, and Matt Damon's controversial oil drama is a must-watch for fans of the Paramount+ show.