To ensure that Taylor Sheridan’s latest hit show doesn’t end up feeling like an imitation of Yellowstone, Landman should instead borrow from Breaking Bad. Whether readers love him or hate him, there is no denying the reality that the prolific writer/director Taylor Sheridan is one of the biggest voices in television in 2026. As astounding as it may seem, Sheridan has more than 11 seasons of TV on the way right now, and there may be more coming depending on renewals.
Between Landman season 3, Tulsa King seasons 4 and 5, Lioness season 3, Dutton Ranch season 2, Marshals seasons 2 and 3, The Madison seasons 2 and 3, Frisco King season 1, and Mayor of Kingstown season 5, Sheridan is a near-unstoppable force. While Yellowstone’s 1944 prequel and its rumoured 6666 spinoff are both in Development Hell for the time being, the fact that Sheridan has a dozen seasons of TV in production more than makes up for these delays.
However, all is not necessarily well in the world of Sheridan’s shows. While one of Yellowstone’s sequel shows, Dutton Ranch, was praised for largely replicating the soapy appeal of the original series, the other, CBS’s Marshals, was criticized for turning Kayce Dutton’s story into a standard, cookie-cutter police procedural. Similarly, Landman season 2 was so bad that some fans were left wondering whether Sheridan had lost his touch entirely.
Landman Season 3 Should Embrace Being A Crime Drama Like Breaking Bad
Loosely based on the podcast series Boomtown, Landman focuses on the billionaire business people who own the oilfields of Texas and, more specifically, on Billy Bob Thornton’s antihero Tommy Norris and his dysfunctional family. Compared to Sheridan’s Lioness, which breaks with his Neo-Western tastes to tell a spy story, Landman sticks much closer to the Yellowstone script.
The show focuses on a grizzled, amoral patriarch of an absurdly wealthy family who engages in all manner of questionable business practices to ensure that no one buys his land out from under him. Of course, Yellowstone was a huge hit that spawned the prequels 1883 and 1923 as well as its two sequel shows, so Landman borrowing its basic setup might seem reasonable.
However, Landman season 2 proved that this approach would not work in this instance. The Norris family’s drama was interminably boring, with a great many commentators online saying that they skipped entire scenes involving Tommy’s daughter and ex-wife.
Luckily, much like Yellowstone becoming The Godfather with horses instead of a straightforward contemporary Western saved the series, Landman season 3 can now pivot and salvage the story of the show. Rather than leaning into the family drama that was common in Yellowstone, Landman would benefit by being more like Breaking Bad, embracing the crime drama aspects of its plot, from collaborating with drug cartels and the corrupt DEA to the inherent dangers of the oil business.
Landman Already Set Up A Big Villain For Season 3
Sheridan’s breakout movie, Wind River, already offered viewers a stark and disturbing vision of the oil business’s worst side. As such, it is clear that the writer/director can move away from Yellowstone’s Dallas/Dynasty inspired soapy melodrama and into harsher crime drama territory.
However, the real sign that this change is overdue comes from Landman season 2 itself. Demi Moore's Landman character Cami Miller, an emerging player in Texas’s oil wars, is a clear candidate for the role of season 3’s lead villain.
When Cami sided with her late husband’s cartel associate instead of Tommy, she signalled that she was unafraid of dirty money once she could be guaranteed the lion’s share of it. This set her up as an ideal hubristic villain in the vein of Breaking Bad’s Gus Fring, and proves that Landman should lean into this genre instead of Yellowstone’s now-overly familiar family drama.
Taylor Sheridan Exit Addressed By Landman Star
Landman season 2 has officially come to a close, and with season 3 on the horizon, Jacob Lofland reflects on the show and its future, including Taylor Sheridan's upcoming departure.
Although Sheridan will soon be leaving Paramount, he will still be around for Landman season 3. However, if the show gets renewed after its third installment, there will be a noticeable shift as the creator is leaving Paramount when his contract ends in 2028 and joins NBCUniversal in 2029.
His decision to leave has driven a wedge between both critics and audiences. While many support his new endeavors and are excited to see what he does next, others were worried about their favorite shows losing the person who created and nurtured them.
In an interview with ScreenRant's Grant Hermanns for the Landman season 2 finale, Lofland, who portrays Cooper in the Paramount+ series, offered his own input regarding Sheridan's departure. The actor said that he was sad to see him go, and it's something that he tries not to think about.
However, he has faith in the creative team behind the hit drama series, such as Christian Wallace (co-creator and executive producer), who will most likely be staying on board after Landman season 3. Lofland said that Sheridan's departure and reasons for leaving were none of his business, so he wasn't going to get involved:
Yeah, I try not to think about it. No, I mean, I trust everyone there. We'll just see what happens. And I don't know, that's not my business, so I try to stay out of it. That's between them.
Sheridan first confirmed that he was leaving Paramount for NBCUniversal in October 2025. The creator struck a five-year deal with the latter for film, television, and streaming. The contract will go into effect on January 1, 2029. His longtime business partner, David Glasser, will also leave for NBCUniversal, bringing 101 Studios with him under a first-look film and TV deal after the company completes its remaining projects with Paramount.
Sheridan has also delivered many successful TV shows for Paramount during his time with the studio. Beginning with Yellowstone, he continued to put out high-performing series that have ranked among Paramount+’s most-watched titles. He also played a significant role in attracting and retaining new subscribers for the streaming platform.
Landman seasons 1 and 2 can be streamed on Paramount+.
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