The Taylor Sheridan creation, Landman, defied expectations to become an unexpected hit for Paramount+ in late 2024, despite its often polarizing and “bonkers” content.
The Viral Controversy and Dialogue
The series gained instant notoriety due to a viral clip from the premiere. In the jarring scene, the teenage daughter character, Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), delivers what critics termed “nonhuman dialogue” when detailing her safe sex practices to her father, Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton). This exchange—where she explains her rule is: “As long as he never comes in me, he can come anywhere on me”—quickly became shorthand for the show’s bizarre approach to dialogue.
Beyond the family controversy, Landman required viewers to metabolize a significant amount of pro-oil culture war messaging. Critics found moments “hardly bearable,” particularly when the plot pushed themes on the “doomed economics of wind energy” onto characters like a hotshot young female lawyer.
The Show’s Redeeming Factors
Despite the polarizing politics, many viewers found themselves drawn in by the core cast dynamics:
- Billy Bob Thornton: He anchors the show with his performance as Tommy Norris, a lifelong “fixer” for oil companies, played with a compelling mix of weary omnicompetence and “foxy charm.”
- Character Subplots: The series was often redeemed by strong character writing in key areas, including a compelling romantic subplot involving Tommy’s son, Cooper (Jacob Lofland).
This ability to weave addictive character drama through a politically charged narrative explains how Landman captured and retained an audience despite its highly unusual dialogue.
The Season 2 premiere of Taylor Sheridan’s Landman (released Sunday, November 10, 2025) has intensified criticism regarding its portrayal of female characters. While Billy Bob Thornton returns as Tommy Norris and Demi Moore joins the cast as Cami Miller, critics argue that the “worst parts” of the show—specifically scenes involving Tommy’s ex-wife Angela Norris (Ali Larter) and daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph)—have worsened considerably.These Norris women, described as “unmitigatedly silly, incurious, and avaricious,” appear engineered as comic relief but instead create an “unsettling” and “unbearably sad” experience for viewers.
The Core Flaw: Repetitive and Regressive Dialogue
The S2 premiere reveals Sheridan’s commitment to continuing the “Norris-woman bit,” using both characters to convey reductive and highly political messages.
1. The TCU Admissions Rant (The Eugenics-Lite Speech)
The scene involving high school senior Ainsley and an admissions officer, Greta, serves as a classic Sheridan culture-war rant disguised as character dialogue. Wearing provocative clothing, Ainsley launches into a problematic speech to justify her admission to Texas Christian University (TCU):
“It seems detrimental to humanity in general that a university would try to keep the prettiest girls from dating the tallest, most athletic boys, who could then get married and make babies who are really pretty and athletic…”
The exchange positions the admissions officer as a “female gatekeeper” and a “villain” for recognizing Ainsley as an entitled child of oil money. When Greta uses words Ainsley doesn’t understand, Ainsley cries, solidifying the idea that the infamous Season 1 viral clip (“he can come anywhere on me”) was merely a joke about her lack of intellect.
2. The Cacio E Pepe Dinner (The Menstrual Cycle Joke)
The second, arguably worse, scene involves Tommy and his ex-wife, Angela. Tommy, a supposed “fixer” who excels at reading people, remarks about Angela’s elaborate cooking: “Have you ever noticed the closer she gets to her period, the more complicated the dinner dishes become?”
The scene culminates in Tommy’s crude generalization about women: “They could watch women argue all fucking day.” Angela’s ensuing act of rage—smashing the dinner table—is immediately undercut when Tommy placates her with a crude compliment: “Before you kill me, I just want to say, your tits look great in that little tiny bra.”
The Conclusion: Misogyny as a Byproduct of Misguided Humor
The critic argues that the Norris women are consistently written as “a piece of cardboard,” eternally annoying, unchanging, and unable to grow—serving only as a stark contrast to the grim reality of the men’s worksite.
While the show features complex, well-written female characters (such as Ariana (Paulina Chávez) and Cami Miller (Demi Moore)), the critic suggests that the Norris women represent Sheridan’s failed attempt at humor, with the deep-seated misogyny acting as a “hazardous byproduct.”
