Landman: Season Two - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Landman: Season Two



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
As I’ve said for Tulsa King: Season 3 and Marshals, Taylor Sheridan is literally holding up Paramount Plus on his very broad shoulders with hit after hit. And while not every one of those shows he pumps out are top notch, I do think that the top of the heap is by far Tulsa King and Landman. While there has been enormous controversy over other studios and other directors putting out slop, or driving the male audience away (*cough, Disney, *cough), Sheridan leans very heavily into make dude shows, for dudes, that actually appeal to women as well. And it’s not even that he’s making “dude” shows, but he’s making shows that would have fit in very well in the 2007-2013 era where we had things like Justified, Burn Notice and countless other action shows where rough and tough men show their rough and tough natures on screen for us all to revel in.

Following up season one, Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) is climbing the proverbial ladder at M-Tex Oil, a company that is struggling with its climb up the ranks, meaning Tommy himself is having a bit of a tumultuous rise as well. This season follow Tommy around with his cantankerous nature, and his weird relationship with M-Tex’s owner, Cami Miller (Demi Moore), as well as engaging in business with cartel members (Andy Garcia), and his VERY strained relationship with his own wife Angela (Ali Larter). And while this is pretty much par for the course continuing with what we had in season one, we also add in Sam Elliott as his father T.L, who is just as stubborn and bullheaded as Tommy is, leading to more stress and difficulties in his home life.

I’m going to just say it up front. While Taylor Sheridan is creating the show, this is really Billy Bob Thornton’s show. Hes is the shining star here, having built up Tommy from the ground up as a force of nature that just dazzles in every scene that he’s in. Billy Bob was regarded as one of the best actors of the 90s and early 2000s, only to start to fade from the limelight over the last 15 years. Only to burst back on the scene with Landman and pretty much glow up with an amazing return to form here. He’s genuinely authentic and with his sarcastic nature and brutally blunt personality makes one of the most unlikable characters on paper into one of the most likable unlikable people on screen. Season one is working with good script writing here, but he also just oozes personality and panache to the point where you can’t completely credit his writing staff for the character’s success. Then you add in Ali Larter (who is not only a great actress, but that woman is STUNNING at 50 years old. Heck, she’s hotter than most women in their 20s and 30s), Sam Elliott and Andy Garcia and you have a talented cast that feeds off of Billy Bob’s energy and enhances the show at every turn.

Now, there is one small thing that kept this show from being as great as season one. And that is Tommy feels a bit laid back compared to last season. Not by a whole lot, but his relationship with Angela has her berating him a bit more than I liked, and then the show itself sometimes dips into Soap opera territory, as is the case with most of Taylor Sheridan’s shows. Luckily not a whole lot, but its enough to feel a bit uneven as the show progresses. Some points we have a straight up oil based drama with lots of tension and brutal back and forth, then the show just falls into a soap opera, with over the top character moments that feel sappy and overly cliched.




Rating:

Rated TV-MA By the MPAA




Video:

The 1080p image is quite stellar, much like the 1st season, with a sharp and clean looking image that is digitally shot and impeccably graded with a fairly dusty looking color grading. Sepia tones and cool blues bleed in depending on the location, and the cinematography is absolutely fantastic. The sprawling exterior shots and clean board rooms all have their own unique vibe going on, with razor share colors and crisp detail levels that show off every age line and crease on the actors faces, as well as nuanced clothing features. Black levels are solid, though I did see some minor crush in the darker shots, and a couple of scenes with banding. Not exactly perfect, but still an excellent viewing experience.





Audio:

Landman is not a flashy or showy series, so the audio track reflects that laid back nature. It’s a full and impressive listening experience, just not one that is going to blow the doors off your audio system. The oil fields get the most aggressive aspects of the mix, with the rumbling and roaring of equipment and some minor shocking booms that shake the sound stage when necessary. But most of the action is firmly in the front 3 speakers as the show focuses heavily on dialog and immersion inside of the board rooms. There could be some additions to the dynamic range of the show, but everything is still done quite competently with good dialog, strong surround presence when required, and a moderate low end.





Extras:

• Going Deeper: Inside Landman Season Two
• Finding Character in Clothing with Clothing Designer Janie Bryant

Final Score: ​

I’ll say it again, Taylor Sheridan is single handedly making Paramount Plus successful, and Billy Boy Thornton is leading the charge with an absolutely stellar performance in Landman. The show isn’t perfect, and the 2nd season has a very slight dip in quality compared to the first season, but this is a fantastic show and easily my favorite (well maybe not EASILY, as Tulsa King gives it a run for its money) show that Sheridan is putting out right now. My only hope is that it doesn’t devolve into too much soap opera like Yellowstone did the last few seasons before it ended. The Blu-ray looks great, sounds good, and actually has a couple of extras this time. All in all, a great season and one of the best shows on Paramount Plus at the moment. Definitely recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Billy Boy Thorntono, Demi Moore, Andy Garcia, Ali Larter, Sam Elliott
Created by: Taylor Sheridan, Christian Wallace
Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French, German DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German
Studio: Paramount
Rated: TV-MA
Runtime: 561 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 22nd, 2026

Recommendation: Definitely Recommended