Billy Bob Thornton Reveals Why the Oil Business Traps Workers Ahead of Landman Season 2

Billy Bob Thornton is back in the boots of Tommy Norris for Landman season 2, and prepping for the job sent him down a rabbit hole that was a lot less glossy than you probably picture when you hear the word oil. He knew the boardroom side thanks to some Texas connections. The reality of who actually works the fields and why they do it hit a lot harder.

What Thornton learned digging into the oil patch

At a season 2 press conference, Thornton talked about the people he met while researching the job. The short version: the field is dangerous, the pay can be life-changing, and the hiring net catches folks other industries ignore. That combination leads a lot of workers to take risks most of us would never consider.

"What surprised me was how many people work in this very dangerous business because they are mainly people who would never be able to make that much money in another business. Let’s say you’re a poor person; maybe you’ve been in prison, you grew up in a rough way... you can’t really get a job in any other place, but they’ll take people out there because the job is so dangerous."

He was blunt about it: some workers are literally risking life and limbs to keep a steady paycheck coming home, sometimes because they do not have other options. And in a very unromantic twist, you can make more money on a hazardous rig than you might at a fast-food counter, which explains a lot of the calculus.

As he immersed himself, Thornton also clocked how many everyday things we use are tied back to petroleum. He has been clear the show is not a sermon about any of this. As he told Reuters, it is not waving a pro-oil or anti-oil flag. The series is more interested in showing what the world looks like for the people making it run.

The job he is playing vs. the job being done

On the show, Thornton plays Tommy Norris, a landman tasked with managing an oil patch for Jon Hamm’s Monty Miller. To make Tommy believable as an executive fixer, Thornton dug into what actually happens on the ground. That contrast is part of the point: the decision makers, the folks pulling pipe, and the money behind it all are not living the same story.

Season 2: Tommy gets the corner office, whether he wants it or not

Season 2 picks up after Monty’s apparent death, and Tommy finds himself in charge of M-Tex Oil. He is not exactly sprinting toward leadership and keeps slipping into his old operator habits, which should be fun to watch crash into the realities of running a company.

Thornton on the show’s surge

Thornton has been famous for decades, but he says Landman has given him a different kind of spotlight. Talking to USA Today, he did not undersell it:

"This is entering a different world. This is kind of a phenomenon."

That tracks with the Taylor Sheridan effect. The guy builds hit-making machines about American industries we think we understand until we actually look at them.

Season 2 snapshot

• Premiere: November 16, 2025 on Paramount+
• Creators: Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace
• Who’s who: Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris; Jon Hamm as Monty Miller
• Story setup: After Monty’s apparent death, Tommy is tapped to run M-Tex Oil and struggles to shake his old instincts
• Vibe check: Not a political screed, just the messy reality of a high-risk business
• Rotten Tomatoes right now: 78% Tomatometer, 65% Audience Score

If you are in for a character study set against heavy machinery, big money, and bigger consequences, this season looks like it is about to turn the wrench even tighter.