Landman Season 2 Gets the Power Move It Needed as Taylor Sheridan Steps Back and Stephen Kay Steps Up

Landman came back swinging. It was already the most-watched original on Paramount+, and Season 2 didn’t even pause to take a victory lap before breaking more records. The twist behind the camera: Taylor Sheridan stepped back from directing, and Stephen Kay is now running the entire season himself.

Kay is steering Season 2 like one long film

Kay isn’t just doing a couple episodes; he’s the season’s sole director with full creative control. His philosophy: treat the run of episodes as a single movie. Because he and Sheridan go way back, the handoff isn’t awkward. Kay even points out that Sheridan spent about 90% of Season 1’s shoot on set as a producer, friend, and extra set of eyes, so the baton pass feels more like a natural progression than a regime change.

• He’s planting story seeds early so payoffs feel earned later, instead of racing from one big moment to the next.
• Scenes are built from the characters out, not the plot in.
• Quiet beats aren’t rushed; tension comes from people, not pyrotechnics.
• Locations and sets are treated like living spaces, packed with specific details that inform the actors’ choices.

Patience over pyrotechnics

'This season is a risk because it’s not big, flashy, or splashy. We’re betting you care about these people. Character is fate — let the characters decide where the story goes.'

That’s Kay’s north star. He’s not chasing the loudest version of any scene. If a moment is simply two icons — say, Sam Elliott and Billy Bob Thornton — staring into the sun, he’s fine staying there and letting the silence do the work. Not exactly trailer bait, but that kind of restraint is usually what makes a show stick.

The craft stuff that actually matters

Kay is big on authenticity. He’s carried that obsession over from Yellowstone: open a drawer on set, it should be filled with specific, lived-in items. He treats the environment as part of the storytelling, not just background wallpaper. When the actors interact with real spaces, and he starts layering in Andrew’s music during the edit, he says the scene suddenly has a heartbeat — you can feel it come alive. The goal, top to bottom, is simple: make it human and make it true. That’s the show.

What about the future without Sheridan directing?

Sheridan’s overall TV deal runs through 2028, and when that clock eventually hits zero, people naturally wonder what that means for Landman long-term. Co-creator Christian Wallace isn’t sweating it right now. Day to day, nothing has changed, and he says there’s still plenty of runway before any big decisions come due.

The cast is similarly bullish. Mustafa Speaks and Mark Collie both sounded optimistic about where the series is headed; Speaks put it plainly: with Sheridan involved, fans can count on excitement, unpredictability, and intensity. In other words, no one is slamming the brakes on the show’s DNA — the plan is to keep the energy and deepen the characters.

So, does the slow burn pay off?

Season 2 is betting that intimacy and authenticity hit harder than explosions. Given the ratings, the gamble seems to be working. The real question is whether Landman can keep that record-breaking momentum as Kay’s 'one big movie' approach plays out — especially with Sheridan not physically calling shots on set. I’m curious where that patience takes them.

Landman Season 2 is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+.