Texas-set drama 'Landman' fueled by major starpower

They say everything's bigger in Texas — and judging from the star power in the new Paramount+ series "Landman," that goes for its TV shows, too.

Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Jon Hamm, and Ali Larter headline the new series, which is co-created by Taylor Sheridan ("Yellowstone") and Christian Wallace (of the podcast "Boomtown"). Set in the big money world of Texas oil, "Landman" centers on Thornton’s Tommy Norris, an oil company crisis specialist who plays the middleman between the billionaire executives and the crews who risk their lives daily working on "the patch."

If the role seems tailor-made for the Oscar-winning "Sling Blade" star, that’s because it is — written specifically for the actor by TV powerhouse Sheridan.

"He said, ‘I’m writing it for you.’ He told me the story, he told me the world, told me what the character was like, which was essentially, ‘Play yourself if you were a landman,’" Thornton said, laughing. "And once I read the first two scripts, I was so hooked, it was like, ‘Yeah, I gotta do this.’"

If Thornton’s character represents oil, then his ex-wife is definitely the water. The over-the-top Angela is played with abandon by Ali Larter, 25 years after she broke through with another Texas-set project.

"‘Varsity Blues’ was pretty much my first movie, and we shot it in Austin, Texas. And then I met my husband in Texas. And now I’m back again, getting to play this larger-than-life real Texan woman," says Larter. "It’s really, like, an homage to all those women down there that I’m so inspired by, because they’re so fabulous. I mean, the hair and the makeup and the guts and the glory!"

The first two episodes of "Landman" premiere exclusively on Paramount+ this Sunday, Nov. 17.