Minor spoilers for the first episode of Landman Season 2 are ahead. You can stream it now with a Paramount+ subscription and then catch new episodes every Sunday after that.
Season 2 of Landman started with the death of Tommy’s mom, and it seems like it’s bound to bring Billy Bob Thornton’s character back together with his father, TL, who is played by Sam Elliott. Now, we already knew Thornton was very excited to have Elliott in Season 2. However, I wanted to know how he reacted when he found out the 1883 actor would be playing his father, so I asked him.
When I posed the question to Thornton, who was sitting right next to Elliott, he didn’t hesitate to say that the casting was “perfect.” Then, he dove into how he reacted when he got the call that the A-lister was joining another Taylor Sheridan show, explaining:
Oh, you know, I’ll tell you something about this. This is no joke, and it’s kind of embarrassing. But I’ve loved Sam as a human being and an actor for so long that when I found out that Sam was playing the part, I told my wife, and I started crying, and she, she’s a witness to it. She can tell you, I’m not joking.
Before saying this, Thornton had told me that he didn’t know at all that Elliott was going to play his father. In fact, he didn’t even know the character would be part of the story at first. However, when he found out about it and who would be taking on the role of TL, he couldn’t help but get emotional.
While he calls it “embarrassing,” I think it’s incredibly sweet and important. The two were both in one of the great Westerns, Tombstone, and Thornton had a small cameo in 1883, which Elliott played a major role in. However, Landman will give them a chance to play father and son and get close on screen in a way we haven’t seen before.
At this point in Landman’s run on the 2025 TV schedule, Tommy and TL have not interacted. However, Season 2’s premiere revealed that Tommy’s mom and TL’s wife had died. So, it stands to reason that the loss will bring the two back together. I, for one, cannot wait to see how they interact and how TL fits into the Norris family. I am also so excited to watch this great cast interact with the legend, Sam Elliott.
Clearly, it meant a lot to the Friday Night Lights actor that the A Star is Born actor had joined their cast as Tommy’s dad. Now, I’m looking forward to seeing how their dynamic evolves on screen, as their characters reunite in the wake of a major loss. Clearly, the two actors mean a lot to each other in real life, so it will be exciting to see how that translates on Landman.
Now, to watch Landman and see how this relationship between father and son develops, you can catch new episodes of the show every Sunday on Paramount+.