Billy Bob Thornton teased that Tommy will do "whatever it takes" after a wild Landman Season 1 finale of the drama series.
The finale episode of Taylor Sheridan's Paramount+ series' debut season brought many major changes to Tommy Norris' life, considering the life of his boss, M-Tex President Monty Miller, was hanging in the balance.
Tommy dealt with an unexpected promotion as the new M-Tex president because Monty's will states that he must take over the company once he is incapacitated. He is also being hounded by the dangerous drug cartel in Midland led by its brutal leader, Jimenez.
What's Next for Tommy Norris in Landman?
After being promoted to president of M-Tex and executor of Monty's family trust, Tommy grapples with a huge responsibility he appears uneasy about, especially after years of working as the bonafide landman of M-Tex and Midland, Texas.
Throughout Season 1, Tommy has no hesitation when it comes to getting down and dirty in dealing with drug cartels, the employees who beat up his son, and even the National Guard (read more about the military's involvement in Landman Episode 8). That is who he is: a landman and a known risk-taker for M-Tex.
Speaking with TVLine, Billy Bob Thornton, who plays Tommy Norris in the series, admitted that his character is "never going to get the landman out of him:"
"Tommy is never going to get the landman out of him. I mean, that’s who he is. He does not want to be an executive guy."
Still, given that Jon Hamm's Monty Miller is already dead in Landman, Thornton thinks that Tommy will do whatever it takes to pay tribute to his longtime friend, "[bringing] along his experience as a landman" further to cement his position as the company's new president:
"I don’t think he wants to be in the suit, but I believe he’ll do whatever it takes. I just think that he’s going to bring along his experience as a landman and run it from that perspective, you know?"
In a separate interview with Deadline, Thornton revealed that he has no idea what lies ahead for Tommy in a potential Landman Season 2, noting that creator Taylor Sheridan "keeps it pretty close to the vest:"
"Taylor [Sheridan] keeps it pretty close to the vest until it’s time. Okay. And when he knows it’s time, he’ll let me know. And when he lets me know, he really lets me know the whole thing. It’s kind of like you want to get all the dust out of the corners before the family gets home when you’re cleaning the house. He really wants it to be where it’s supposed to be before any of us hear about it."
At the end of the episode, Tommy again sees a coyote in his backyard. He tries to warn it from afar by mumbling to himself to get out of his property before being killed again by his neighbor in the penultimate installment (Reese Ravencraft played the coyote killer who is part of the Landman Episode 9 cast).
In the same interview with Deadline, Thornton thinks that "Tommy connects with that coyote in a lot of ways," but he is still trying to figure out how it relates to him:
"I think Tommy’s looking at the coyote and trying to figure out, is that me or is that them? Tommy connects with that coyote in a lot of ways. Like this lone wolf animal out there, this coyote just running around the field and Tommy’s looking at him with a kinship, but then he is killed right before his eyes. When Tommy walks out there and looks at the coyote in the eye, it’s like, ‘okay, I guess that is me. It could be me. Or is it?’ I think he’s trying to figure it out, because the coyote doesn’t just walk by, they lock eyes and it’s almost as if the coyote’s trying to tell him something."
Thornton ended by saying that "Tommy [is still] trying to figure out" how he fits in the grand scheme of things:
"It’s like, 'Stay away from this, or no, you have to do this.' And I think it’s Tommy trying to figure out what his place is in this whole mess."
As the coyote and Tommy lock eyes in the finale, the landman ends the episode by uttering, "You better run, buddy. They kill coyotes around here."
Landman co-creator Christian Wallace told TV Insider about the significance of that final line, acknowledging that it speaks volumes about "the brutality of the Permian Basin" and how "it's a rough place to live in many ways," even for tough coyotes:
"I think that speaks to just the brutality of the Permian Basin. It’s a hard place to live. It’s a rough place to live in many ways. The oil and gas industry, for those who work in the patch day in and day out, it’s tough. And so I think that’s just kind of a metaphor about just, 'Even for coyotes, this is a tough place to make it, buddy.'
Wallace, though, is tight-lipped about whether the coyote is being compared to Tommy or Monty, simply saying, "I guess that is open for interpretation."
After Episode 10 finally confirmed Monty's death, Wallace shared that it remains to be seen if Tommy is the right person to take his boss' spot as president, considering fans have yet to see him in boardroom meetings and fancy dinners:
"I think that that is to be seen. 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."
The Landman co-creator then teased that being president is "a fascinating space for Tommy to have to navigate:"
"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."
Midland and Fort Worth in Texas serve as the primary filming locations of Landman Season 1.
Tommy Has More Responsibilities in Landman Season 2
Tommy Norris already has too much at stake, considering that his life is threatened by one of Midland's well-known drug cartels in the finale.
Thankfully, he is saved by the drug cartel leader, Galino (played by veteran actor Andy Garcia), who tells him they should coexist instead of fighting.
Aside from an ugly fight with the drug cartel, Tommy also has to deal with the ups and downs of his family life, considering his wife, Angela, and daughter, Ainsley (portrayed by Landman breakout star Michelle Randolph), are settling in for good in Midland.
He is also unaware that his son, Cooper, is already making moves behind the scenes to start his own oil company, and this could spell some trouble for him as M-Tex's new president.
In a potential second season (read more about Landman Season 2), Tommy is set to embrace many new changes in his life, and the finale hints that he is overwhelmed by all of it.
At this stage, Tommy needs only to toughen up and be ready for what lies ahead, knowing that everyone is counting on him to forge a new future for M-Tex.
All episodes of Landman Season 1 are streaming on Paramount+.
