Landman is one of Paramount Plus’s most popular shows ever, and it had better get the most out of it, given that creator Taylor Sheridan is headed over to NBCUniversal after they lured him away. Now, season 2 of Landman is here, and it continues to be one of the most schizophrenic shows I’ve ever seen, split between a decently compelling western/corporate drama and…whatever is going on with Tommy Norris’ wife and daughter at any given time.
These two women have always felt like they’ve existed in their own series, and their storylines have been almost comically misogynistic and at worst, downright unsettling. But in the season 2 premiere, I think it’s the worst it’s ever been.
There have been plenty of weird moments so far, the most uncomfortable being Tommy’s daughter Ainsley describing her sex life to her father in a conversation I cannot ever imagine would happen in real life. Then, there’s the show going out of its way to tell the audience that Ainsley is an underaged 17, but putting her in tiny outfits and talking about her body and sex and related topics in almost every episode (her actress, Michelle Randolph, is 28).
It’s all been very odd, but the season 2 premiere is just…gross. Despite Sheridan attempting to create “tough” women characters elsewhere, last season’s Rebecca and this season’s Cami Miller played by Demi Moore, Ali Larter’s Angela and Randolph’s Ainsley are stereotyped to the point of parody. Offensively so, yes, but also it’s so weird this is happening in an otherwise extremely self-serious drama.
In the premiere, Ainsley has an interview with an admissions counselor at TCU, where she constantly misunderstands basic words and puts forth rambling answers implying an entirely empty skull, which is more than visible to the counselor. At one point, she reveals that she wants to go to TCU because they have no policy that cheerleaders can’t date athletes, a policy she says is unfair elsewhere because super pretty and athletic people should be breeding more pretty and athletic kids. My jaw dropped. How is this a real script? Oh, and in the end she’s accepted anyway because she’s a walk-on cheerleader who can’t be rejected for any reason.
If that wasn’t enough, after being accused several times of making poorly conceived plans while on her period, Larter’s Angela throws half a dozen plates at the wall during dinner and rips the rest of the food to the floor by dragging the tablecloth. All after the perfectly reasonable suggestion that perhaps since Tommy is now President of an oil company, they should move into a house they don’t share with random employees. Then, Tommy compliments her boobs which instantly, makes Angela forgive and want to have sex with him.
This is just such a weird show. I actually think it works really well on a number of levels, really everything involving the oil storylines, carried by the effortless charm of Billy Bob Thornton. But I do not understand why the show is obsessed with his underage daughter and treats her and her mother like the worst parodies of self-obsessed, vapid women currently on TV. Sheridan shows are always controversial, but I have never seen anything like this before across any of them. It’s so bizarre.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2025/11/19/what-is-landman-season-2-doing-with-these-women-ainsley-michelle-randolph-ali-larter/
