In his wildest dreams, writer Christian Wallace never thought he’d be co-creating a television series with Taylor Sheridan. However, his successful podcast Boomtown—which describes the historic oil boom in the Permian Basin—caught the prolific creator’s attention, thus planting the seeds for Paramount+’s Landman. With the obvious parallels between the growth of the oil industry and the burgeoning businesses of the modern American West as depicted in YellowstoneSheridan “was the only person who I had in mind to adapt Boomtown,” says Wallace. “I had wanted to work with him for years.”
The drama centers around Billy Bob Thornton‘s Tommy Norris, a grizzled veteran of the oil fields and a certified landman. His job is to obtain mineral rights for Motex Oil’s owner Monty Miller (Jon Hamm) and to keep his operation running smoothly. If that means negotiating with the cartels or going toe-to-toe with corporate lawyers or dealing with issues on the ground at multiple oil rigs or driving across West Texas at a moment’s notice, so be it. “I do think that [Tommy] was a composite of people that Taylor has encountered,” said Wallace. “He knew this character, and he knew he wanted Billy Bob to play him.” For his part, Wallace believes Thornton “exudes the grit and the humor that a landman requires.” “He just embodied this character,” Wallace adds.
While Wallace was quick to remind audiences that this series is “not a documentary,” the cast and creative team went to great lengths to keep the proceedings as authentic as possible. “There’s an attention to detail and there’s a level of care with every scene,” said Wallace. “From the costumes to the props to the locations we used, everyone cared deeply about doing it the right way.” While Wallace noted that real-life roughnecks may take umbrage at some of the series’ most bombastic moments, he hopes that they’ll “forgive us for the few times we didn’t get it exactly right.”
Wallace spoked to Decider via Zoom to talk about the podcast that started it all, what surprised him most about Sheridan as a collaborator, and more.
DECIDER: When you first started Boomtown, did you ever imagine a television adaptation would come of it?
CHRISTIAN WALLACE: Tell you what, I didn’t even know who was going to listen to that podcast [laughs]. I was like: “I’m making this show about West Texas oil and gas. Who’s going to tune into this?” Right after we started releasing the first episodes, it just caught on. I’m from West Texas, so things that were normal to me seemed incredible to other people. At the end of the day, however, the podcast is about people and families living in an extraordinary place under extraordinary circumstances. These people are trying to live their lives, working hard to provide for those they care for. That’s the heart of Boomtown, and I think that’s the heart of Landman too. That theme resonates with people.
There are undoubtedly parallels between the complex business of the modern American West we see in Yellowstone and the oil business in Landman. Did this make Taylor Sheridan the right co-creater of this series ?
Yes. He was the only person who I had in mind who could adapt Boomtown. I had wanted to work with him for years, going back to Hell Or High Water. First time I saw that movie, I was like, “Who wrote this? Who is this guy?” That was pre-Yellowstone. The chance to work with Taylor on this was an unbelievable opportunity. I’m so glad it worked out the way it did because here we are talking about it.
What has surprised you most about him as a collaborator?
He is crazy smart, like scary smart. He knows something about everything. Whether it’s cooking or oil and gas or cowboy stuff—or I’m not even joking—rocket ships in space. He knows an extraordinary amount about a number of topics. When you’re collaborating with him on something like this, he just brings so much. His extensive knowledge only strengthens his writing and his storytelling. He’s one of a kind. And that is not hyperbole.
Is there one person in particular the character of Tommy Norris is based on? Or is he amalgamation of several people you and Sheridan have encountered?
Yeah, that’s a good question. Taylor brought Tommy Norris, Billy Bob’s character, into our collaboration from the beginning. He knew this character, and he knew he wanted Billy Bob to play him. I do think that the character is a composite of people that Taylor has encountered, and then Boomtown inspired a world for this character to exist in.
Why was Billy Bob Thornton the right choice for Tommy?
That guy exudes the grit and the humor that a landman requires. There are so many one liners in the show that were just off the cuff from Billy. He embodied this character, so he naturally threw in an extra bit of dialogue or extended a moment by a beat. He’s managed to be so funny and so poignant, sometimes in the same breath.
As a Texan and someone who knows the oil industry in and inside, how did you ensure authenticity on the set?
Well, it’s not a documentary. Not everything is exact, but we tried our level best to make it that way. From the costumes to the props to the locations we used, everyone cared deeply about doing it the right way to the best of our ability. There is an attention to detail and a level of care in every scene. It was important to get as much right as we could. If roughnecks are watching, they might see some things that make them go “hey….” Hopefully, they’ll forgive us for the few times we didn’t get it exactly right.
New episodes of Landman are available to stream Sundays on Paramount+
