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The last couple of episodes of Taylor Sheridan’s Landman have proven critical to the entire narrative. In the eighth episode, fans saw the National Guard using the Norris family land for airstrike training. They contribute to escalating the tension with the cartel by accidentally destroying their van filled with drugs and members.
Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris in Landman | Credits: Paramount NetworkSheridan’s show about the oil workers and corporate companies in West Texas has some foundation in reality. The show is based on Christian Wallace’s podcast Boomtown and Wallace serves as a co-creator of the Paramount+ show. Wallace can clearly tell you what’s real and what’s not and the dramatic twist about the National Guard is far from reality.
Taylor Sheridan’s Landman co-creator opens up about the reality of the show’s most dramatic twist
Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy Norris with the National Guard in Landman | Credits: Paramount NetworkThe involvement of the National Guard in the feud between the cartel and the Norris family was something fans did not foresee in Taylor Sheridan‘s Landman. The National Guard’s actions in episode eight will have dire consequences for the Norris family. While watching the episodes, fans wondered whether the dramatic twist had any real-world truth to it.
Christian Wallace, Sheridan’s co-creator in the show, opened up about what’s real and what’s made for reel during an interview with Deadline. He shared that a lot of the show is accurate based on his ground experience and the info he gathered for his podcast Boomtown. While he didn’t address the cartel issues much on his podcast, Wallace shared that some parts of it were accurate.
However, he credited the idea of bringing the National Guard into the plot to Sheridan. Wallace shared that it was the Yellowstone creator’s specialty to spice up the plot with such a dramatic turn of events. He shared with Deadline:
That is part of Taylor’s specialty, being able to take a scenario and drum up the action and the intensity to that level. I mean, he’s just so good at spinning a narrative up to its utmost height. And so the National Guard is all credit to Taylor.
However, Wallace didn’t entirely brush aside the standoff between the cartel and M-Tex’s company. It meant that while the twist is miles away from being a reality, it is not entirely beyond the realm of possibility.
Christian Wallace says Landman captures a decent sense of what really happens
Michelle Randolph, Ali Larter, and Billy Bob Thornton in Landman | Credits: Paramount NetworkChristian Wallace and Taylor Sheridan talked for two years about the characters and their storyline before any scripts were written for the show. He shared that he and Sheridan formed the writer’s room of Landman. They would discuss scenes and dialogues before Sheridan would actually go and write the episodes.
When asked about accuracy, Wallace admitted that they would squeeze things in the story to make sense for their characters. He further shared that the show captured a “decent sense” of what happened in the Texas oil & gas industry. Wallace told Deadline:
A lot of it is very accurate. Some of it we had to kind of squeeze together to make it make sense for our characters. And it’s funny, it depends on who you ask. My uncle who works in the oil field for the last 30 years will nitpick every little thing. But I think for the most part, it’s safe to say you get a decent sense of what it’s like working in oil and gas out there.
The series stars Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Demi Moore, Jon Hamm, Jacob Lofland, and Michelle Randolph. The show will air its tenth and final episode of the season on January 12th.
Landman is now available for streaming on Paramount+.
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