Billy Bob Thornton Lifts Landman Season 3 With May Shoot
landman season 3 is set to begin shooting in May after the show was announced in December. The update lands after a January Season 2 finale that drew 15.8 million viewers in its first two days and became the most-watched original series finale ever for Paramount+.
Billy Bob Thornton and Sam Elliott
Billy Bob Thornton said returning to Tommy Norris felt familiar: "I was just kind of putting on a nice pair of worn-in pants." He also said, "Sam and I go way back, so it was easy," a shorthand for the on-screen ease that helps the series keep its audience inside the same family and work relationships season after season.
Sam Elliott gave the show its bluntest pitch: "This show is a reflection of what we all would like to deal with from day to day." He added, "People that you want to be around, people you love that are decent to each other. Today more than anytime, that’s what we’re all craving."
Stephen Kay's heart pitch
Stephen Kay said, "We love each other, and you can sort of feel it when you watch the show. There’s a whole lot of heart." That matters because the series is being carried forward by a production team that sees its appeal in the chemistry around the cast, not just in the scale of the story.
The same panel put the show’s reach in sharper focus. Thornton said, "We thought it was going to appeal to the middle of the country, that was the hope for it," before adding, "We didn’t think the coasts would go for it — we certainly didn’t think it would become this huge international hit." He said, "We have fans in Uganda, Australia and everywhere else," and pointed to Sheridan’s mix of "emotion and humor and drama and absurdity and danger" as part of the draw.
January's 15.8 million viewers
The January Season 2 finale gives May's production start real weight. A finale that pulled 15.8 million viewers in its first two days and set a Paramount+ original series record is not the kind of number a streamer lets sit idle for long; it pushes the company to keep the machine moving while the audience is still warm.
Sam Elliott turned the renewal into a career note as well as a series note. "It’s an amazing bunch of people to work with," he said. "That’s the gift." For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: the next season is already moving, and the show’s biggest business proof point arrived before cameras even restart in May.
