How Accurate Is Taylor Sheridan’s New Show “Landman”?

If you’ve ever wondered about the dangerous world of oil rigs, billionaires, and the people trying to make it big in the West Texas oil industry, then Taylor Sheridan’s Landman might just be your new obsession.

But, like any show that promises drama, tension, and a glimpse into a world of money and power, you might be wondering: how real is all of this? Well, we’re here to dive into Landman and figure out what’s fact and what’s fiction. So, let’s get into it!

What is Landman About?

So, what’s the story of Landman? The show is set in the heart of West Texas, where oil rigs dominate the landscape, and fortunes are made (and lost) every single day. The show follows the journey of a crisis executive named Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton), who is doing everything he can to push his company to the top during an oil boom.

But he’s not the only one looking to get rich in this cutthroat world. On one side, you have the roughnecks—workers on the oil rigs who are doing the hard, dangerous labor to make their paychecks.

On the other side, you have the wildcat billionaires—powerful people trying to make a fortune by drilling for oil in one of the most productive oil regions in the world. The show explores their lives, their struggles, and the politics of the whole thing.

It’s a story of money, power, ambition, and the chaos that comes with it. The first episode starts with a bang: Jacob Lofland’s Cooper Norris, a roughneck, loses his entire crew in a tragic rig explosion.

From there, Tommy Norris tries to break the news to the families affected by the disaster, and the show starts to dive into the personal side of the oil business.

Is Landman Accurate?

Now, let’s talk about how accurate Landman really is. The show is actually based on the 2019 Texas Monthly podcast Boomtown, which looks at the real-life oil boom happening in the Permian Basin in West Texas.

Christian Wallace, who worked on the podcast, grew up in Andrews, Texas, and even worked as a roughneck on the oil rigs. So, he’s drawing from his own experience. He knows the industry and the people who live and work there, which gives the show a lot of authenticity.

The podcast Boomtown gives listeners a look at the region’s history with oil, its economic impact, and the human stories behind it all. It’s a pretty serious and honest look at how oil affects the lives of people living in the area.

According to PEOPLE, Landman takes a lot of inspiration from this podcast, especially when it comes to the characters and the way the oil industry is portrayed.

The tragedy in the first episode, where Cooper loses his entire crew, is inspired by a real-life incident where a family (the Martinez family) lost three generations of fathers due to a similar rig explosion. The show doesn’t shy away from showing the harsh, dangerous realities of the oil business, even as it ramps up the drama.

And yes, there are those “breastaurants” in the show, which might seem over-the-top. But believe it or not, they’re based on real places that exist in the region. So while some of the crazier moments in Landman might be dramatized for effect, the show is deeply rooted in real issues and real stories.

Why Landman is Worth Watching

Well, this is Taylor Sheridan we’re talking about, so you can expect dramatic flair in this series. Sheridan is famous for blending gritty realism with intense action and suspense, and Landman is no different.

The show is grounded in reality in many ways—thanks to Wallace’s firsthand knowledge of the industry—but there are definitely some moments that might make you raise an eyebrow. For instance, the show features some pretty dramatic scenes.

In one, Tommy Norris, the oil exec, gets kidnapped by a cartel and then talks his way out of it by cracking jokes. As fun as that might be to watch, it’s not exactly something you’d expect to happen in real life (unless you’re living in a Sheridan drama, of course).

The show’s also packed with other over-the-top moments, like high-stakes power plays and tense confrontations. These kinds of scenes are part of what makes Sheridan’s shows so engaging, but they might not be the most realistic portrayal of how the oil industry works day-to-day.

Landman is available to watch on Paramount+!