It Makes For Some Pretty Interesting Stuff -

Following the shocking change of power in the season 1 finale, Billy Bob Thornton is sharing some of what to expect from Demi Moore’s bigger role in Landman season 2. The Taylor Sheridan-co-created show follows Thornton as Tommy Norris, the titular oil company fixer as he tries to manage a series of hurdles his company faces, including drug cartels on their land and fatal accidents on their drills. Landman season 1 ended with Jon Hamm’s Monty dying from heart problems and Moore’s Cami taking over the company, promoting Tommy to be President of the company.

Now, as part of Deadline‘s Contenders panel, Billy Bob Thornton offered a little insight into Landman season 2’s story, which is currently filming. In looking at Demi Moore’s expanded role as Cami, he teased that he will have a closer relationship with her going into the new season, as he now has to help her learn “how these people operate” and inform her about the “street smarts” behind the oil business, while also indicating that his family life will also create further complications for him this season:

Since she doesn’t really know the oil business that well, I’m there with her to show her how these people operate. You can know something intellectually, but what are the street smarts behind it? I know how to deal with these people she’s going to have to deal with. I just tell her, “Look, some of these deals you can take, but when it gets really weird and difficult, let me know, because I know these guys.” He goes from having a job that’s really difficult and a job that’s very dangerous to having two [jobs]. Now I’m kind of executive and a landman and a family man in the midst of this tornado. It makes for some pretty interesting stuff I have to say.

As to how Tommy may change this season, Thornton humorously admitted his Landman protagonist is going to mostly stay the same in season 2, while stating that the biggest change audiences are likely to see going into this season is a “difference in my wardrobe“. Check out the rest of what Thornton shared below:

I think the only difference in my wardrobe this year is every now and then, I’ll throw a sports jacket over my jeans and crummy button-up shirt.

Tommy Is Entering A Very Different Side Of The Oil Business

Cami’s decision to retain ownership of the oil company and put Tommy in the President position in the Landman season 1 finale proved something of a game-changer for both characters in the show. Moore’s role was criticized for its lack of depth in season 1, particularly since it came amid her overall resurgence and Oscar buzz for The Substance. Between Thornton’s comments and a recent casting report promising a bigger role for Moore, it seems as though Sheridan is listening accordingly to certain points of criticism from season 1.

However, with Thornton indicating that Tommy will have to guide her through the seedier sides of the oil business he’s often dealt with, it also seems possible that Cami will have a more hands-on role than Monty in Landman season 2. Considering how little is currently known about Moore’s character because of her smaller role in season 1, it’s not clear if she has any experience running a business, but that also gives Sheridan an opportunity to flesh her character out by establishing her as having some kind of business background, be it through college or elsewhere.

9 Things Landman’s Season 1 Finale Sets Up For Season 2 Of Taylor Sheridan’s Show

Landman’s season 1 finale offered a climactic finish for several narratives while also setting up story elements for season 2 and beyond.

As for Tommy, his new job in Landman season 2 comes at an interesting time in his life in general. He’s not only been putting his family back together with Ainsley and Angela moving back in, but he’s also reluctantly made a deal with Andy Garcia’s Galino for safety, even laying groundwork for the drug lord to get into the oil business himself. While he would generally have to run decisions by Monty in the past, Tommy, now being the president of his company, could become more emboldened in his decision-making for keeping the peace and making money.

Moore Is Getting The Arc She Deserves

John Hamm and Demi Moore as Monty and Cami Miller in Landman

While I feel like Hamm’s Monty was also underutilized in season 1, I do find it encouraging that Landman season 2 is really boosting Moore’s character with a bigger role. In addition to Tommy giving her guidance into the oil business, a bigger role will also allow us better insight into who Cami is as a person, all the more important now as she’ll also be grieving the loss of her husband.

Source: Deadline