Billy Bob Thornton Calls ‘Landman’ a ‘More Intense, More Dangerous, and More Humorous’ Version of ‘Giant’

“I’m politically incorrect sometimes,” Billy Bob Thornton said during a Q&A after the first episode of new Paramount+ series “Landman.” “I think you should always show two episodes to an audience. That’s the first thing. The other thing I think you ought to do is open up questions for the audience.” He paused. “We’re not able to do that tonight, and we did not show two episodes.”

The crowd and Thornton’s fellow cast members (including Demi Moore, Ali Larter, and Michael Peña) roared. The moment was in keeping with Thornton’s persona but also his starring role in Taylor Sheridan’s new series, set in the contemporary Texas oil fields.

After Thornton made a cameo in Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” prequel “1883,” the prolific producer told him, “I’m writing a show around you. It’s called ‘Landman.’ I’m gonna write it with your voice.” And when Thornton got the first script, he recalled, “I read it, and I go, ‘Boy, you did get my voice, didn’t you?'”

Thornton said his initial reaction to Sheridan’s pitch brought to mind another sprawling project set in the Texas oil world. “There was a movie called ‘Giant’ with Rock Hudson, James Dean, and Elizabeth Taylor,” he said. “Great movie about oil in West Texas. And when I first heard about this from Taylor, I thought: ‘Giant.’ This is a more intense, more dangerous, and more humorous version of ‘Giant.’ It goes 10 episodes. It just gets more and more of each of those things. But what you get to look at is seeing how the oil gets out of the ground, how it affects the people who are involved in it.”

Thornton points out that the show is apolitical in its look at oil, focusing instead on the people. “A lot of those people are ex-cons, and some are uneducated,” Thornton said. “It’s the only place they can make $180,000 a year to take care of their families. And I’m the guy in charge of taking care of them and making sure my boss at the oil company gets his money. And that’s really what it’s about. It’s about a guy with the weight of the world on his shoulders, with an eccentric family circling him, and a huge job to do.”

And though reviews won’t come out until November 15, prior to the November 17 premiere on Paramount+, Thornton’s review is already in. “It’s very, very good,” he told the crowd. “And I normally don’t say that. I’m too superstitious to say stuff like that. But this time I’m saying it. Maybe it’s just because I had two Bud Lights.”

The first two episodes of “Landman” will premiere on Paramount+ November 17.