I’ve at all times been of the opinion that if you’re into Yellowstone, you’ll take pleasure in Taylor Sheridan’s different reveals. If you’re not right here for these gritty, Western, melodramatic sequence, then you must possibly activate one thing else. It seems that sentiment stays true for his newest undertaking Landman, as a result of the evaluations for it are everywhere. So, with its premiere on the 2024 TV schedule simply days away, let’s go over what critics are saying about this Billy Bob Thornton-led drama.
Coming off the heels of Yellowstone’s Season 5B premiere, Taylor Sheridan’s latest undertaking Landman is about to premiere on Sunday, November 17. The present takes place in West Texas and follows Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy Norris, the person who does the fixing for a robust oil firm. Like all the tremendous producer’s reveals, this sequence is action-packed, intense and loaded with monologues. For some that works. For others, it does not.
There’s One Camp Who Did Not Love Landman
There are many critics who had a number of bones to choose with Taylor Sheridan and his latest drama. For instance, Daniel Fienberg’s overview for THR highlights Billy Bob Thornton’s energy as an actor, nonetheless, aside from that, he didn’t appear to take pleasure in Landman a lot. He wrote:
Which means massive stars (not at all times well-used), massive melodramatic swings (not at all times well-executed), and massive tonal detours that left me uncertain if Landman is supposed to be at the least semi-comedic. There’s an enormous ensemble however only a few totally conceived characters, simply numerous Stetson-wearing dogmatic monologues ready to occur. It’s bluntly entertaining and bluntly infuriating, characterised by the excesses of a producer to whom no one ever says no.
Over at EW, Kristen Baldwin criticized the present for its depiction of ladies, headlining the overview with “Man, does this new Taylor Sheridan drama hate ladies.” Whereas she famous, as you’ll learn under, that the primary few episodes are implausible, it was exhausting to see previous the best way the feminine characters are depicted:
Lest Mr. Sheridan assume that I’m being an excessive amount of of a scold, let me make clear: I’m not mad, sir, simply disenchanted. Landman’s pilot is implausible, and I praised it as such. The underlying themes — together with the world’s reliance on an trade that might destroy the planet — couldn’t be timelier and extra provocative. Because the episodes progressed, nonetheless, and Sheridan proceeded to double, triple, and quadruple down along with his drained takes on ladies, it was exhausting to take care of that very same stage of enthusiasm.
The sequence relies on Christian Wallace’s podcast Boomtown, and it tells a fictionalized story in regards to the fashionable oil trade. In Kelcie Mattson’s overview for Collider, she acknowledged that Landman had potential, nonetheless, it lacked the nuance wanted to succeed:
However regardless of Landman’s potential, Sheridan’s greatest recurring limitations run roughshod over his strengths. This fictional dramatization of a contentious real-world dilemma, to not point out its profoundly related ramifications, erases nearly all substance and nuance from the essential dialog — whereas additionally making bizarrely nonsensical selections in different areas.
So, as you may see – and that is par for the course with Taylor Sheridan reveals – there are many of us who’ve their critiques, and so they’re truthful. Nonetheless, on the opposite facet of this, there’s a complete different camp of critics who love Landman.
Nonetheless, There’s A Complete Different Camp Of Critics Who Are Very Right here For Landman
Whereas Landman has its critics, it additionally has admirers. Over at Looper, Akos Peterbencze gave the sequence a 7.5 out of 10, citing Billy Bob Thornton’s efficiency as one of many greatest professionals of the present:
On a primary impression, ‘Landman’ may come off as a self-serious present that makes an attempt to show the darkish facet of the oil enterprise and its geopolitics (which is partly true), however Sheridan loosens up the strain fairly early on. Thornton’s protagonist is a cross between his ‘Unhealthy Santa’ character, Lorne Malvo from ‘Fargo,’ and a tough however soft-hearted dad who can rarely say no to his youngsters. Even so, he will not shrink back from hitting everybody within the face with harsh truths and on-point opinions which might be usually hysterical. The witty and drily sarcastic means he delivers these strains permeates the entire sequence, making it extra entertaining than it has any proper to be.
In the meantime, together with praising the A-lister helming Sheridan’s present, CBR’s Brittany Frederick spent lots of time evaluating Landman to Yellowstone in a really complimentary means. Noting how Thornton’s character Tommy is the polar reverse of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, this new present does sort out related themes and shares lots of the drama the author’s flagship present has:
Landman really looks like Sheridan coming again to the trendy Western ethos that he nailed so nicely with Yellowstone and in his movies earlier than that, and it succeeds partially due to that. With its Texas setting and a set of hard-bitten characters combating simply to outlive, it is every thing Sheridan does rather well.
Over at TV Information, Liam Mathews had the same opinion, naming Landman a “Worthy Successor to Yellowstone” within the headline. Like all the opposite evaluations, the lead’s efficiency is praised. Nonetheless, this critic made an enormous level about how refreshing it’s to have a humorous character within the lead position. He wrote that this makes Landman a refreshing entry in Taylor Sheridan’s ever-growing catalog of labor:
Sheridan’s flagship present has gotten unwieldy with lackluster facet characters, go-nowhere subplots, and shark-jumping twists, and the extra grounded Landman looks like a welcome refresh as Yellowstone winds down. The plot, at the least by way of the primary 5 episodes, is fast-moving, targeted, and principally believable.
In case you study something about Landman from these critics, it appears to be that viewers’ mileage on this present might differ. Nonetheless, if you happen to dig Taylor Sheridan’s different tasks – and particularly are a fan of Yellowstone – then this new sequence is likely to be for you.
To determine which facet of this debate you fall on, you may stream the primary two episodes of Landman with a Paramount+ subscription beginning Sunday, November 17.