Paramount+ Biggest Hit Yet Has a Wild Real-Life Story Behind It
Taylor Sheridan keeps exploring his motherland’s culture, but this time with a pinch of reality.
A drama show that broke a couple of records at Paramount+, Landman is Taylor Sheridan ’s one more take on stories that used to take place in some American states which back in the day no one considered that important, at least when it comes to the whole country’s blossom.
Following a group of people involved in oil production that almost never comes along without legal battles and dark secrets, Landman draws its inspiration from a very real story that occurred back in the 1920s, though not everything in the show is taken from the last century’s major event.
Landman Is Based on a Podcast Recounting Texan History with Oil Production
Raised in Texas, Sheridan couldn’t just ignore all the tempting stories that the state’s history keeps. Back in the 1920s, Texas saw an unexpected oil boom which resulted in many developers’ desire to get some share of the gold-promising liquid.
The whole story first got the attention of Christian Wallace and eventually inspired him to make a 10-episode podcast called Boomtown – there Wallace takes a closer look at Permian Basin of West Texas, the place that, as he reassures his listeners, can potentially reshape the entire world’s climate and economy.
The podcast, in its turn, went further to Sheridan who later on suggested he and Wallace collaborate on a Western-like show which would be loosely based on the podcast and some historical facts.
Landman Characters Have Nothing to Do With Real-Life Events
Though the show’s events connect in one way or another with what was and is still happening in the US, Sheridan’s characters are an invention of his own.
Landman’s lead man Tommy Norris, portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton, and everyone who surrounds him are put in a pretty much real-life-like landscape of the famous Permian Basin where they all strive for securing a share of the land’s wealth for their own good.