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Landman<\/em><\/a> is not exactly the first show that jumps to mind when you think of family-friendly television fare, but the show is becoming the most unlikely family show on television during Season 2.<\/p>\n Landman<\/em> follows the life and career of Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton), a landman working for M-Tex Oil in West Texas who later rises to become the company\u2019s president.<\/p>\n Along the way, he faces a wide range of problems and threats \u2014 from a powerful drug cartel attempting to muscle in on their land to financial improprieties and other high-stakes challenges.<\/p>\n At home, Tommy navigates life with a colorful and complicated family that includes his ex \u2014 and possible future \u2014 wife Angela (Ali Larter); their children, son Cooper (Jacob Lofland) and daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph); and his father, TL (Sam Elliott).<\/p>\n Family drama is a major element of Landman<\/em>.<\/p>\n As the show has progressed into Season 2, we’re seeing a lot more backstory about Tommy’s difficult relationship with his parents and why he has such a dark view of the world.<\/p>\n The new season has also given each main character the chance to really develop more emotional layers, which really helps the viewer invest in their stories.<\/p>\n Obviously\u00a0\u2014 with its proliferation of frank sexual talk, many instances of fairly extreme profanity, Thornton’s recent shocking full-frontal nude scene<\/a> and subsequent offer to deal with breakfast in a truly unusual manner\u00a0\u2014 Landman<\/em> does not remotely resemble traditional family television, nor does it intend to.<\/p>\n However, I’d argue that Landman<\/em> has something that no sanitized family sitcom or cuddly Lifetime movie could ever match: An underlying understanding of what really drives people.<\/p>\n Yes, the Norris family has some built-in problems, and the personalities are large, loud and over-the-top, resulting in some major conflict.<\/p>\n But as Season 2 goes on, we’re seeing new sides to all of these characters and their relationships, and it’s actually a lot of heartwarming family fare.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/em> So THAT’s Where We’ve Seen Charlie From Landman<\/em> Before!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Thornton plays his character with a world-weary air and a permanent eyeroll as he gets exasperated about one crazy thing after another, but underneath his drinking, cursing and seemingly general dislike for life itself, he’s actually a stand-up person who will stop at nothing for the people he loves\u00a0\u2014 even if he complains about it the entire time.<\/p>\n So far in Season 2, we’ve seen him engage in an intensely emotional, very healing conversation with Cooper,\u00a0who tells his dad that he did the best he could in raising him and that he loves him, bringing tears to his eyes that he does not acknowledge.<\/p>\n Then there’s Ainsley, who is tearful after hearing how his late mother treated him, resulting in a very bonding father-daughter conversation.<\/p>\n Season 2, Episode 7 of Landman<\/em> also featured a pivotal scene between Tommy and TL, who uses himself as an example of what not to do, both as a father and a man.<\/p>\n “You’ve got it all,” TL tells Tommy about the importance of family, adding that he’s too stupid or angry to see it and that he’s throwing his life away on work in the same way his dad did.<\/p>\n That conversation leads to another, even more important emotional breakthrough, when Tommy finally realizes that his dad is right.<\/p>\n That leads to him really opening up to Angela about their tempestuous relationship, telling her that he realizes “what a gift it is” to have her back in his life after their divorce and subsequent reunion.<\/p>\n It also leads to her being vulnerable, in a side we really haven’t seen of the Angela character very much before.<\/p>\n “I just want to be loved,” she tells him as he reassures her.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s messy. Yes, it\u2019s complicated. Yes, some of the characters seem to love each other more than they actually like each other.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the thing: isn\u2019t that closer to what real family dynamics look like? This isn\u2019t the sanitized, picture-perfect version of family life you\u2019d see on The Brady Bunch<\/em> or Growing Pains<\/em>.<\/p>\n Landman<\/em> digs into the kinds of issues you probably recognize from your own family: a few alcoholics in the mix, siblings who don\u2019t quite mesh, and layers of generational trauma that everyone is trying to work through in their own imperfect ways.<\/p>\n Still, the characters keep showing up. They keep trying. They remain committed to moving forward together, no matter how uncomfortable or messy that process becomes.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no neat bow tied on top \u2014 and that\u2019s the point. It feels like real life, where no one can frustrate you quite like family, but they\u2019re also the people who will be standing beside you when it actually matters.<\/p>\n Landman<\/em> airs new episode every Sunday via Paramount+ streaming.<\/p>\n Paramount has released several first-look pictures in advance of Landman<\/em> Season 2, and it looks like the new season will ratchet up the crazy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat Is Landman<\/em> About?<\/h3>\n
What Role Does Family Play in Landman<\/em>?<\/h3>\n
Wait … How Can You Call Landman<\/em> a “Family Values” Show?<\/h3>\n
What Happens Next on Landman<\/em> Season 2?<\/h3>\n
PICTURES: Get a First Look at ‘Landman’ Season 2<\/h2>\n
11 ‘Landman’ Facts You Definitely Didn’t Know<\/h2>\n