Taylor Sheridan’s new western is perfect for Yellowstone lovers

Taylor Sheridan may have ruined Yellowstone in Season 5but the prolific showrunner is still hosting popular TV shows and securing future projects that will hopefully make fans forget the worst moments of his career. Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser are slated to return for the Yellowstone spin-off.while “Madison,” “6666” and “1923” Season 2 will further expand the universe of the popular neo-western franchise. Still, Sheridan has another successful show on Paramount+ that will appeal to fans of his brand of dramatic storytelling — even if it’s more about oilmen than cowboys.

The Earthman stars Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris, an oil company foreman who must juggle his busy work with raising a teenage daughter and an on-and-off affair with his ex-wife. On a typical day in the life of Norris, he interacts with some undesirable people, most of whom he likes better than his daughter’s boyfriends. He’s also a big fan of Dr. Pepper, and he gives out the soda often enough to make skeptics think it’s another example of how Sheridan loads his shows with product placement.

Although Norris is a successful head of a billion-dollar enterprise, he also boasts blue-collar bravado and spends his days tutoring wealthy tycoons, politicians and criminals with his dry wit and no-nonsense attitude. He could easily pass for a member of the Dutton family in Yellowstone, and that’s not the only thing The Earthman has in common with Sheridan’s other series.

Tommy Norris is similar to John Dutton (Kevin Costner) in Yellowstone in that they are both stoic and fearless. The Earthman makes this clear in the opening scene of episode 1, in which Norris is tied to a cartel base with a hood over his head. The guy is shot, but Norris only cares about relieving his bladder. Eventually the cartel boss arrives and Norris bluntly informs the criminal that his team is on his company’s land and they part ways. At once, “Landman” creates a world of organized crime and, well, land. Sound familiar?

While the crime element is thrilling, Earthman also highlights the problems of the industry that creates history. Yellowstone killed Colby Mayfield (Denim Richards) to illustrate the dangers of ranching. The first episode of “Landman” ends with an oil rig exploding, killing three people for a similar effect. Norris’ son, Cooper (John Lofland), is the only survivor, and the episode portrays him as an incompetent laborer who only got a job thanks to his father. However, he gets better at it as the series progresses, an arc that echoes Jimmy Herdstrom’s (Jefferson White) journey from lovable loser to decent rancher in Yellowstone.

All in all, The Man of Earth is another Sheridan series that explores corporatism, politics, crime and family values ​​in a world that bears some resemblance to the Old West. The drama is similar to “Yellowstone” in many ways, but contains enough original elements to distinguish it from the rest of its creator’s work. Plus, Landman is better than Season 5 of Yellowstone, so that’s a bonus.