Landman has been frequently dubbed as the replacement for Yellowstone, and there are several reasons why Taylor Sheridan’s new show is coming for the mantle. Beginning in 2018, the Kevin Costner-led neo-Western quickly skyrocketed to become one of the most popular shows on television. In late 2024, Yellowstone’s ending finally came about with the second part of the show’s fifth season, concluding the modern tale of the Dutton family without Costner, leading to some of the most mixed reviews the series has had since it started.
Regardless of how Yellowstone ended, the series leaves behind a notable void. Netflix has already tried its hand with contemporary Westerns, and other streaming services will surely follow in an attempt to fill that vacancy. Several of Taylor Sheridan’s TV shows have already begun running on Paramount+, including Yellowstone prequels like 1883 and 1923 and crime series like Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown. Nothing has quite reached the same level of popularity, that is, until Landman began its run.
8
Tommy Norris Is Taylor Sheridan’s Best Protagonist Since John Dutton
These Patriarchs Are Written With A Very Similar Characterization
A significant component of Yellowstone’s success was due to the immense popularity of Kevin Costner, particularly with a certain generation who loved his movies in the late ’80s and early 1990s. Billy Bob Thornton doesn’t have quite the same level of appeal, but he’s an equally enjoyable actor to lead Landman’s cast. Not to mention, Tommy Norris and John Dutton have a fair amount in common, as Taylor Sheridan wrote both characters with very similar dialogue.
Both Tommy and John are veterans of their industry, and they’ve been around the block long enough to know how everything works and how to talk to every sort of person. They’re both tough men you wouldn’t want to mess with, yet they have a tender side when it comes to their families. Most importantly, they’re both men who have dedicated their lives to their occupation, and that constantly takes priority over personal happiness or even family.
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Family Is A Major Component Of Landman & Yellowstone
Both Shows Explore Unique Familial Relationships
Landman’s cast isn’t quite as big as Yellowstone’s, with a majority of the focus being on Tommy and his direct family members. That being said, family is still a central aspect of the series, with dynamics that are different from those explored in Yellowstone. Tommy’s ex-wife is a central character in the series, along with his daughter and son, who are a fair bit younger than the Dutton children. Rather than being at each other’s throats like Jamie and Beth Dutton, Cooper and Ainsley have a more juvenile dislike for each other.
The family lives of oil patch crews are also explored, with a devastating explosion at the end of episode 1 claiming the lives of three men and leaving widows behind. These characters aren’t as central to the story, but it’s important for Taylor Sheridan showing the variety of people who exist and who are affected by the Permian Basin oil industry. Lastly, Tommy’s relationship with his ex-wife develops, demonstrating aspects of relationship compatibility that Yellowstone never really got to touch on with John.
6
Landman Explores The Gap Between The Wealthy & Everyday Workers
Both Series Show Both Ends Of The Spectrum In Their Industry
One of the best parts of Yellowstone is the bunkhouse crew. They’re the cowboys that do the work on the Yellowstone Ranch, all crammed into one living space. Some of them are even branded, and Landman presents a similar level of loyalty from certain characters. The oil patch workers fulfill a similar presence in Landman, at least while Cooper takes part in various crews, offering brotherly banter, trash talk, and a generally similar atmosphere to the bunkhouse characters in Yellowstone.
Oppositely, both shows demonstrate characters on the higher end of society. Jon Hamm’s character, Monty Miller, is an oil magnate who lives in the big city away from all the action while reaping the benefits of it with his family. John Dutton is wealthy in Yellowstone but not quite on the same level as other characters who are depicted, like Dan Jenkins or Market Equities, who show how little regard the wealthy have for those working day jobs.
5
Yellowstone & Landman Both Explore The Idea Of The American Dream
America Is A Critical Theme In Taylor Sheridan’s Work
Taylor Sheridan’s TV shows practically all have one thing in common: they’re deeply American shows. Whether it be about the criminal justice system in Mayor of Kingstown or the idea of land in Yellowstone, Sheridan’s shows are made to provoke questions about their subjects. Oil is a major world resource, but specifically exploring how it can make or break lives in America is a crucial part of Landman and the arcs of several of the show’s main characters.
Notably, Taylor Sheridan never suggests one way or another whether someone like John Dutton or Tommy Norris is right or wrong. The shows are angled from their perspective, and that can often make them seem right, but the series importantly offers compelling counterarguments on all issues. In many ways, John Dutton’s behavior is destructive and impractical, ruining the ranch’s chances of survival. Sheridan’s shows pose questions about America and the country’s ideals, leaving the audience to assess their feelings.
4
Both Taylor Sheridan Shows Involve Contemporary Organized Crime
Landman Has Its Action, Just Like Yellowstone
Landman begins with a wild opening sequence where Tommy is tied up with a blindfold and questioned by the Cartel. Even the high-ranking members of the oil industry run into problems with organized crime in the region, and it adds life-or-death stakes to the series that are similar to what Yellowstone has. Between gangs and hired mercenaries, the Yellowstone protagonists faced plenty of violent threats throughout the series.
Just like how John Dutton or Rip Wheeler will get the branded cowboys together when someone needs to be killed, Tommy assembles his most loyal oil patch workers when someone needs to be beaten up. Landman season 1 has already seen Tommy rallying his men and arming them to face off a group of assailants, and he similarly has an alliance with the local sheriff to help him bend the rules. The point is to demonstrate a sense of lawlessness akin to the Wild West, even though the shows are set during the present day.
3
Landman Could Be Called A Neo-Western
Landman Isn’t As Obvious Of A Western As Yellowstone, But It Is One
Characters wearing cowboy hats don’t necessarily make a TV series a Western, but there’s an important aspect of the violence depicted in Landman that resembles the genre. The term “neo-Western” simply means new Western, referring to the modern setting of a series like Landman, while a classical Western would be something like 1883, which is set during the Wild West times. Landman may not be about cowboys or frontiersmen, but there are several Western elements, like violence and the pursuit of wealth.
Classical Westerns commonly feature wealth in terms of actual gold or cash robbed from banks. In Landman and Yellowstone, the currency is oil or land. The protagonist is a character forced to use violence to protect or take that currency. Both Tommy and John Dutton are men who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty with blood for the sake of their industry, and they know as well as anyone how dangerous the world is. There’s a larger presence of the law in these shows, limiting what they can do, but it’s far less restricted than what most viewers are used to.
2
Cooper Fulfills A Similar Archetype To Kayce
Both Main Characters Have A Quiet Prodigal Son
There are many differences between Kayce Dutton and Cooper Norris, but there are also plenty of similarities in how they’re written. They both fall under the prodigal son archetype, even though John wants Kayce to run the Yellowstone Ranch and Tommy wants Cooper to avoid the oil industry. Their goals are different, but they demonstrate quality and generally kind behavior, though they still often find themselves in trouble of various sorts. Cooper has already been injured twice in Landman, while Kayce has been in several firefights in Yellowstone.
Cooper’s relationship with Ariana also has some similarities to Kayce’s relationship with Monica. Before he’s killed, Monica’s brother essentially only tolerates Kayce. There’s a sense of hostility toward him as an outsider, similar to how Ariana’s friends feel when Cooper starts spending time with her. They aren’t nearly as romantically involved as Kayce and Monica were just yet, but it seems like they’re not too dissimilar from what they might have looked like at the beginning.
1
The Land Is A Main Character In Both Shows
Each Show’s Region & Climate Plays A Role In Its Story
Land is a central theme in both Landman and Yellowstone. The former begins with a scene where Tommy is negotiating the ownership of land with the cartel, and it remains a central discussion throughout. However, beyond being the shows’ thematic exploration, the atmosphere of the respective regions lends personality in unique ways. Yellowstone is all about the natural beauty of John Dutton’s land, and viewers are shown epic, sprawling shots of the Montana wilderness, allowing them to soak it all in and resonate with the Dutton family’s goals.
This looks like a terrible place to be, and yet it’s the location everyone needs to be to flow liquid gold into the world.
The dry boomtown terrain of Landman is far less beautiful and alluring, but it’s evocative in its own way. It’s scorching hot and dry as can be, and it’s made even more stunning when fire erupts from an oil well explosion. This looks like a terrible place to be, and yet it’s the location everyone needs to be to flow liquid gold into the world. “Hell Has a Front Yard” is the title of Landman episode 3, and it perfectly encapsulates the meaning of the desert’s characterization in Taylor Sheridan’s latest show.