Landman and Severance both compelling TV watching

Landman’s Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris, a middleman who must negotiate with defensive landowners, cutthroat billionaires and ruthless drug cartels to keep the drills pumping.

When the main players aren’t on screen, things feel like they can go in circles, but when Landman does get it right, it offers some of the most compelling TV drama currently around,” writes Streaming columnist NICK OVERALL.

Following the massive success of Yellowstone, acclaimed writer and director Taylor Sheridan has brought a new series to Paramount Plus.

Nick Overall.

It’s called Landman and this one takes audiences into the dangerous, hyper-masculine world of the West Texas oil industry.

Billy Bob Thornton plays Tommy Norris, a middleman for an oil tycoon who must negotiate with defensive landowners, cutthroat billionaires and ruthless drug cartels in order to keep the drills pumping.

This fixation on land and who lays claim to it will sound familiar to fans of Yellowstone. It’s the central theme here, too, and Thornton plays the leading role with just as much magnetic gusto as Costner did with John Dutton.

Landman’s cinematography is also just as immaculate. Trading the sweeping hills of Montana for the barren oil fields of Texas, there’s a markedly different feel here.

Whereas Yellowstone had a focus on natural beauty and the relentless encroachment of industry upon it, Landman shows audiences a world that has already been transformed by greed and production. A landscape picked clean by roughnecks trying to get rich quick and the insatiable executives who take most of the profits.

To them there are no political or ecological qualms. They’re committed to the idea that the world runs on oil and until an alternative is found they believe they’re the ones keeping the world’s lights on.

Landman doesn’t quite explore this side of its story as much as it should have, only dipping its toes in the politics occasionally. It’s more interested in what life is like out in the oilfields

It feels like a glimpse into life in an industry otherwise unseen, albeit with some hyperbole and soap opera well mixed in.

Landman’s biggest problem is its side characters.

When the main players aren’t on screen, things feel like they can go in circles.

Often the audience is left to follow the antics of Norris’ ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter) who, to be figurative about it, digs for gold rather than oil. It’s supposed to offer some kind of levity to this series, which can feel heavy with injury and death out on oil rigs, but so much time is dedicated to inane side plots that the fast-forward button begins to feel very tempting.

When Landman does get it right though, it offers some of the most compelling TV drama currently around.

It seems like a second season is already on the way and with some tightened screws here and there this show might be able to give even Yellowstone a run for its money.

AS mind-bending television goes, it doesn’t get more out there than Severance.

The second season of this underrated sci-fi thought-experiment is now streaming on Apple TV Plus, diving even deeper into the existential dread of working in an office.

In this alternate reality, people are able to undergo a surgical procedure known as “severance”, essentially splitting their brains and their identities into separate halves.

One half is entirely dedicated to work and is “activated” when arriving at the office. When 5pm strikes, the other half of the brain switches back into action with no memory of what happened for the last eight hours, essentially allowing employees to “skip” entire work days.

While for many it seems like a good deal on paper, it’s not long before the procedure starts to induce some frightening side effects.

Those who have undergone severance eventually have the work half of their identity rebelling against the play half, calling themselves “innies” and demanding the “outies” let them have time off as well.

The question also rises: when you don’t remember your work day, what work are you actually doing?

Such is the secret of Lumon, the mega-corporation that uses the severance procedure to control its hundreds of employees.

Still with me?

The complexity of the premise here speaks to the fascinating psychological themes it explores.

Season one was a cerebral slow burn that left audiences on a major cliffhanger.

Now season two promises to answer some of its biggest questions.

Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette and Christopher Walken lead a talented cast who bring this intriguing idea to life.

If there’s a reason to give Apple TV Plus a go, Severance is it.

First published at Canberra City News, February 2, 2025