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Taylor Sheridan and Billy Bob Thornton are such a natural pairing that it’s not at all surprising that Landman has been yet another hit for the creator behind Yellowstone and it’s many spin-offs. Thornton plays Billy Norris, a crackerjack consultant, fixer, and general hired gun for a major oil conglomerate in present-day West Texas. Beyond the complicated economics and politics of the oil industry, the poor guy’s also dealing with extremely complicated family drama, debt, criminal ties, and substance-abuse issues. Call it Dallas for a new generation.
You can stream Landman on Paramount+, and check out these similar shows after your binge is complete.
Mayor of Kingstown (2021– )
Another Taylor Sheridan creation, this one stars Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky, head of a family that’s been keeping the peace, more or less, in the title’s company town for decades. The “business” of the corrupt burg just happens to be incarceration, and the McLuskys thrive when business is up, even if Mike himself has slightly different ideas about how to run things. The show deals, at least broadly, with systemic racism and inequality in the prison system, but mostly it’s a modern day western about bringing justice to a corrupt town. Stream Mayor of Kingstown on Paramount+.
Dallas (2012 – 2014)
It’s tempting to direct you back to the original series’ 14-season run, but that one’s a harder to stream—and besides, this direct continuation is still pretty fun. Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray and Larry Hagman (as the original’s J.R.) are all back, joined by a new generation lead by Josh Henderson, Jesse Metcalf, and Jordana Brewster. They’re every bit as scheming, conniving, horny, and oil obsessed as their parents. Stream Dallas on Tubi.
Yellowstone (2018 – 2024)
The Taylor Sheridan drama that launched an empire, as well as a thousand spin-offs (well, seven, including those in development). The Dutton family of Montana, owners of the largest cattle ranch in the state, deal with family and political drama—a bit like a modern Dallas, but with the vibes of HBO’s Succession. Though the main series ended after five seasons, mostly to accommodate the departure of Kevin Costner, there’s plenty more to explore in the past and future of the Yellowstone universe. Stream Yellowstone on Peacock.
Empire (2015 – 2020)
Terrence Howard leads a truly impressive cast (among them Taraji P. Henson, Gabourey Sidibe, and Vivica A. Fox) in this juicy, glossy, hip-hop infused soap opera. Howard plays Lucious Jackson (neé drug dealer Dwight Walker), who changed his own fortunes by building Empire Entertainment from the ground up. As the series begins, the music mogul is diagnosed with ALS and given a life expectancy of only a few more years. Refusing to watch his life’s work die, he sets his three sons at odds to determine who’ll be the one to control things when he’s gone. His schemes are complicated by the release from prison of Cookie Lyon (Henson), the co-founder of the company and Jackson’s ex-wife. As the kids say: drama! There’s a little bit of Dallas and a little bit of Succession (which Empire predates) here, sharing with those shows and Landman the whole family dynasty thing, but with hip-hop rather than black gold. Stream Empire on Hulu and Tubi.
Goliath (2016 – 2021)
If the pull of Landman is Billy Bob Thornton as a complicated anti-hero with substance abuse issues, this David E. Kelley legal drama will work just fine as a streamalike, even in the absence of oil wells. Here, Thornton plays Billy McBride, a once-successful lawyer who left the firm he built after a murder suspect he’d gotten acquitted went on to kill his family. After a long run of doing not much other than drinking, he’s drawn back into the fray when a dead man’s sister asks for his help on a case involving his old firm, a major corporation, and some very crooked cops. Stream Goliath on Prime Video.
Mine (2021)
American TV shows tend to view the wealthy with nuance, even when they’re engaged in overtly criminal behavior. South Korean creators, on the other hand, have no problem criticizing the 1% (Parasite and Squid Game are hardly outliers), particularly the plutocratic chaebol families who control huge portions of the country’s economy. The minseries Mine centers the women who are jockeying for control of the massive, fictional Hyowon Group from within their family’s outrageously opulent (and extremely photogenic) residential compound. The plans of two increasingly powerful women who married into the family, Hi-soo and Seo-hyun, are thrown into disarray when the new housemaid begins a romantic relationship with one of the male heirs, while a new tutor seems ready to expose old family secrets. It’s very much a Dynasty-style soap opera, with various family members crawling over each other seeking control and a sense of identity. Stream Mine on Netflix.
What do you think so far?
The Waterfront (2025)
Swapping big-time oil for a family fishing business may seem like a big leap, but we’ve still got plenty of crime and drugs in this Netflix series. Holt McCallany plays Harlan Buckley, returning to manage the family business, one which is tied up with multiple dueling drug cartels, as well as unreliable family members and at least one (Supergirl‘s Melissa Benoist) who’s looking to escape her own legal problems by working with the FBI against her father and brother. Stream The Waterfront on Netflix.
Joe Pickett (2021 – 2023)
A vibe match that, while it doesn’t replicate Landman‘s family and business drama, still runs with the neo-western feel that defines a Taylor Sheridan show. Michael Dorman stars as Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden with a violent past and, well, a violent present too. Dorman’s Pickett is less of a tough action hero type, and more of a likable, everyday guy who just happens to be wrapped up in a murder via his day job. It’s not a comedy, but is definitely a bit weirder and more surreal than the more literal style of something like Landman, which lacks flourishes like Pickett‘s memorable emu wrestling scene. Stream Joe Pickett on Paramount+.
Queen Sugar (2016 – 2022)
Another intense family business drama with a dash of a succession crisis: In Queen Sugar, three largely estranged siblings in distant cities are brought together by the death of their father, who has left them each an equal share in an 800-acre sugarcane farm in rural Louisiana. The Ava DuVernay-produced (and sometimes directed) series offers plenty of scandal and soapy drama, but ultimately, it’s a show about a family coming back together to preserve its legacy. The siblings (Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, and Kofi Siriboe) are a bit less gritty and troubled than the Norris family (they’re mostly trying to do the right thing), but they still generate enough drama to fuel seven successful seasons. Stream Queen Sugar on Hulu.
The Son (2017 – 2019)
The popularity of Taylor Sheridan-esque neo-westerns leads us, inevitably, to something closer to an actual western. In this series, adapting Philipp Meyer’s 2013 Pulitzer Prize-finalist novel of the same name, Pierce Brosnan plays Eli McCullough, a ruthless cattle baron making moves to get in on the burgeoning oil industry in the Rio Grande Valley of 1915. A parallel narrative sees Eli as a young man, kidnapped and raised among a Nʉmʉnʉʉ family. While his backstory lends the character welcome complexity, in the present, he’s as determined to build his empire as he is to prepare his son and grandson to take over when he’s gone. Stream The Son on Prime Video and AMC+.
