‘Landman’: 6 Burning Questions for Season 2

Landman hasn’t officially been renewed for Season 2, but given the popularity and bona fides of the drama (it’s peak Taylor Sheridan, first of all, and it’s already become an awards season fixture), it’s just a matter of time.

The finale for the initial season left plenty of room for more, of course, with quite a few open ends and unanswered questions. So while we wait for Season 2 to be officially announced, here’s a look at what we’re most wondering about after Season 1’s explosive finale.

Is Tommy going to rise to the occasion?

Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) is going to be wearing a very new pair of shoes soon, following the death of his boss and friend Monty (Jon Hamm). He is, for now at least, taking over as leader of M-Tex, and while he’ll happily keep some of the old guard around to help him — including Monty’s own widow Cami (Demi Moore) — it’s still going to be a whole new game for him to learn to schmooze with the filthy rich oil executives on the board and spend less time in the fields.

Co-creator Christian Wallace hinted that this question will be top of mind in a second season, telling TV Insider, “He’s very good at being this managerial person and kind of a mid-level tier out in the field working closely with the rig hands and the roustabouts and the guys in the patch. We haven’t really seen him in the boardroom that much and at the fancy dinners. There is a difference between Monty and Tommy. And so that is, again, a fascinating space for Tommy to have to navigate, especially since he’s been out kind of scraping by Midland and Odessa for the last decade-plus.”

Can Tommy and Angela actually make it?

The relationship between Tommy and Angela (Ali Larter) has been born of pure chaos and physical chemistry ever since she returned to Texas. Plus, since they’ve already divorced at least once in the past, there’s plenty of reason to worry about their future. In the finale, though, both characters broke through all of their blustering to show something more serious about themselves.

For Tommy, Monty’s death gave him perspective about her as he called and very seriously expressed his love for her. “Tommy knows by the end of this first season just how much he actually does care for Angela,” Wallace explained of the scene. “It’s cliche, but it’s the closest thing he’s ever known to a soul mate, and that carries a lot of weight.” Then, for Angela’s part, her very cheery demeanor slipped a bit after she saw Tommy injured from a cartel clash, and Wallace says there’s more to her than meets the eye: “There’s so much depth to Angela that maybe isn’t like what she presents,” Wallace said. “I think it’ll be fun to see other outlets, other ways that she can kind of let that tough exterior drop just a little bit while still being the badass that she is.”

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Will Cooper’s new business venture interfere with Tommy and Cami’s plan?

After Monty’s heart attack, Tommy took over as president. For his first decision, he and Cami decided that the best way to honor his legacy would be to “roll the dice” one more time and close on a risky “farmout” deal that will require her to put up everything she owns as capital for a loan. It could net them millions or it could cost her everything, and now it’s up to Tommy to make it happen. 

At the same time, his son Cooper (Jacob Lofland) has been busy signing leases with smaller tract owners on hard times, hoping to create a network of properties that work together — sort of a co-op of landowners. We have to wonder whether that will conflict with what Tommy is trying to achieve with the farmout deal? He’s already brushed up against M-Tex in the past during the death benefits negotiations, so it’s clear he’s not afraid to cause his father a professional headache if needs be.

Do Cooper and Ariana really stand a chance?

The wisdom of Cooper and Ariana (Paulina Chavez) striking up a close friendship and then romance has been questioned ever since her husband died in an explosion in the pilot, and after 10 episodes, it’s still looming large.

While Cooper has shown his commitment to her in many ways — from simple acts like helping with taxes and lawn care to more profound moves like working to increase her death benefits payout and being a shoulder for her to cry on — it’s unclear whether these two have a real future together. Cooper’s latest gesture of looking through Ariana’s wedding album with Elvio and letting her have all of her feelings right in front of him was certainly a good start in that direction, but could he ever really be more than a grief rebound? We shall (hopefully) see.

Will we learn more about Angela’s past and true feelings?

Angela went all-in with Tommy early on in the season and only looked back long enough to reclaim her beloved Bentley. But when she went to her ex-husband Victor’s house, there seemed to be a tinge of doubt in her mind after seeing his place crawling with young beautiful women to take her place. 

We don’t know much about Victor or why she was with him in the first place. But considering he was willing to pay child support for Ainsley, despite not being her biological father, and letting her walk away with a nice cache of gifts, he can’t be all bad, right? So will we ever meet Victor and find out more of what she’s really walked away from?

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What is Galindo going to do with (or to) Tommy?

The biggest question mark of the finale, of course, is what’s going to happen now that Galindo (Andy Garcia) has joined the fold. After mowing down his own team for overstepping in their dispute with Tommy — by even blowing up an entire oil well and then proceeding to vigorously torture the landman — Galindo had a strikingly friendly conversation with Tommy. 

They’re obviously both able to look at the bigger picture (securing exorbitant wealth through their individual endeavors), and they share a common interest in sharing the land that makes it happen for each of them. So how will this illicit new cooperation agreement play out? And how will it affect Tommy’s efforts to keep M-Tex afloat? No doubt, Season 2 will dig into that soon and often.

Landman, Paramount+