Taylor Sheridan’s “Landman” Steps Up to Support Independent Country

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People love to say that hit TV series Yellowstone is nothing more than a soap opera, just with a more interesting setting and cast of characters. They happen to be right about that, but what they fail to mention is how important setting and characters can be to great storytelling.

Songwriters don’t need to be convinced of this truth. Sometimes it’s not what a song says, but where it takes you, and who you meet when you’re there. Setting and character can help remind you of places you’ve been, or help you forget where you are, shepherding you away to somewhere beyond the mundane. That is why so many find Yellowstone so compelling.

Love or loathe Yellowstone, it has been incredibly critical to the support and popularity we’ve seen flowing to independent country music rarely or never featured on the radio or awards shows. When the story is written about how the country music revolution turned the table on Music Row, Taylor Sheridan and Yellowstone Music Supervisor Andrea von Foerster will go down as being as important as anyone.

That’s why the launching of a new show called Landman created and written by Sheridan could be critically important as well. Andrea von Foerster divulged at a special Yellowstone event in Nashville in September that the new show would double or triple the amount of songs features compared to Yellowstone. This got lots of people’s attention in the independent country world.

The first two episodes of Landman premiered on Paramount+ on Sunday, November 17th. Similar to Yellowstone, Landman takes advantage of a real world setting, in this case the Permian Basin of west Texas that holds the greatest oil reserves in the lower United States. There are no snow-capped mountains or picturesque cabins in tall pines to oogle at. It’s dusty, dry, and unforgiving, and for those who work the oil patch, incredibly dangerous.

Similar to Yellowstone, the characters of Landman fit in a structured hierarchy that the narrative webs itself across. John Hamm plays the big businessman Monty Miller along with his trophy bride portrayed by Demi Moore. A host of roughnecks work “the patch,” which can be loosely tied to the ranch hands hanging around the Dutton Ranch in Yellowstone. The central character in this case is Tommy Norris portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton, who plays a crisis executive at the M*Tex Oil Company.

Tommy Norris pinballs from one major crisis to another, sometimes throwing around 7 and 8-figure solutions from M*Tex Oil’s coffers to make major problems go away as he also tries to manage his personal life.

Most important to the realm of country music is the amount of songs embedded within the scenes. As Yellowstone is likely coming to an end with Season 5, Part 2, another outlet to take up the show’s position as a piledriver for independent country artists would be ideal. Though Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequels have been entertaining, they haven’t been the vehicle for song syncs that Yellowstone is. The two-year pause in new Yellowstone episodes proved how important these song placements were.

The first episode of Landman featured music from Vincent Neil Emerson, Tanner Usrey, 49 Winchester, the Turnpike Troubadours, and Treaty Oak Revival among others. The second episode featured music from Brent Cobb, Ward Davis, and Ella Langley. True to her promise, Music Supervisor Andrea von Foerster is packing these episodes with good tunes in critical moments.

Though it’s a streaming-only show, hopefully Landman can rise up to fill the gaping hole Yellowstone will leave in supporting song and artists mainstream country criminally ignores. And similar to Yellowstone, scripted drama aside, the setting and cinematography is pretty incredible, and the audience walks away with a greater understanding of an important American industry and the people who operate it.

The series is currently only available to stream on Paramount+, with new episodes every Sunday evening after Yellowstone. Ironically, Yellowstone doesn’t appear on Paramount+, only on the Paramount Network on cable.

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SONGS FEATURED ON LANDMAN:

Episode 1 – “Landman” – 11/17/2024

  • Xavi – “La Diabla” (playing on the truck radio)
  • Treaty Oak Revival – “No Vacancy” (waiting in line for coffee)
  • Vincent Neil Emerson – “Debtor’s Blues” (Tommy getting ready for work)
  • Tanner Usrey – “Take Me Home” (Tommy drives out to accident)
  • 49 Winchester – “Everlasting Lover” (Tommy drives to cafe)
  • Treaty Oak Revival – “Boomtown” (On the truck radio as they go to football game)
  • Turnpike Troubadours – “The Housefire” (On the radio, returning to camp)

Episode 2 – “Dreamers & Losers” – 11/17/2024

  • Whiskey Myers- “Bad Medicine” (On the radio and in the house)
  • Ward Davis – “Another Bad Apple” (In the M-Tex Oil House)
  • Ella Langley – “Make Me Wanna Smoke” (In the Patch Cafe)
  • Turnpike Troubadours – “Mean Old Sun” (In The Patch Cafe)
  • Brent Cobb – “Snakebite” (Driving away, ending credits)
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