Billy Bob Thornton isn’t just bringing Tommy Norris to life on screen.
He’s watching Landman like the rest of us, analyzing every twist and turn.
And the Emmy-winning actor has some strong opinions about where Taylor Sheridan’s oil drama should head in its already confirmed third season.
Spoiler alert: family friction might be just getting started.
Healing Old Wounds Between Fathers and Sons
Thornton envisions Tommy’s relationship with his father T.L., played by Sam Elliott, continuing to mend after season 2’s emotional reconciliation. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, he shared his fan theory about what’s coming next.
As a fan, I’m watching and I’m thinking, ‘You know what? I bet he and [T.L.] get closer. I bet he and his dad repair the relationship.’
Season 2 reunited Tommy with T.L. following Dorothy’s death—Tommy’s mother who was both emotionally and physically abusive. Their initial clash was inevitable, given Tommy’s deep resentment over T.L. abandoning him to work offshore oil rigs while he endured his mother’s abuse alone.
But something shifted as episodes progressed. Father and son found common ground, eventually forming what appeared to be comfortable symbiosis.
Tommy even brought T.L. into his new venture, CTT Oil Exploration and Cattle, as head of drilling operations. The company name itself—standing for Cooper, Tommy, and Thomas (T.L.’s real name)—signals Tommy’s desire for multigenerational unity.
Cooper Takes Center Stage—And Potential Conflict
Here’s where Thornton’s predictions get interesting. With Cooper now serving as CTT’s president while Tommy works beneath him as Senior Vice President, power dynamics are bound to shift dramatically.
Thornton sees potential trouble brewing between father and son.
But because his son is now the guy, and he got [Gallino] in there to begin with, maybe there’ll be friction between them, yeah? Actually, I’d like to see that as a fan.
Cooper’s involvement with Gallino—played by Andy Garcia—adds explosive complications. Cooper unknowingly brought the cartel leader into CTT as their major investor, a decision that could haunt all three generations of Norris men.
After Tommy delivered an excellent pitch, Gallino increased his investment substantially. But there’s a terrifying catch: he’s already threatened harm to Tommy’s loved ones if CTT fails to deliver on its promises.
The Human vs. Artist Perspective
Despite predicting conflict, Thornton’s heart wants something different. He hopes to see Tommy, T.L., and Cooper form what he calls a “united front” in season 3.
Whether that’s going to happen or not, who knows. But I guess that’s just the human in me as opposed to the artist. The human in me says, ‘I hope that happens.’
It’s a fascinating admission from Thornton—the tension between what makes good drama versus what feels emotionally satisfying for characters we’ve grown to care about.
What the Creators Are Saying
Series co-creator Christian Wallace isn’t giving much away about whether the Norris men will successfully unite or implode. When asked about their future dynamics, he kept things deliberately vague.
I think we’ve seen that there are certain dynamics that definitely work, and then there are some that are a little bit more volatile. But, sometimes, the volatility… it is part of the passion and the love that these characters have for one another.
Wallace emphasizes that despite their tendency to “blow up,” the Norris family ultimately comes together to achieve worthwhile goals. That pattern has defined their relationships throughout two seasons.
Cooper’s Growing Pains
Wallace points out significant responsibility now rests on Cooper’s shoulders as company president. He’s gone through tremendous growth across two seasons, but he’s far from finished learning.
We’ve seen him go through a lot in the last two seasons, and he’s growing up, but he still has a lot to learn. And so I think it’s pretty cool to have T.L. and Tommy by his side through this thing, because now he gets to learn both the positives and the negatives of how they have lived life and how they’re living it now.
Wallace describes both T.L. and Tommy as models of what to do and what not to do—a duality that could provide rich material for Cooper’s character development.
That Beautiful, Fleeting Moment
Wallace called the season 2 finale scene where Tommy unveils CTT one of the most satisfying sequences they’ve filmed. Three generations of Norris men, all connected through oil industry work, finally aligned at one pivotal moment.
To see T.L. and Tommy and Cooper, these three generations, all bound by this one industry, all coming at it from different places in their lives, but now they’ve arrived all at this moment together… as always in these shows, you know that peaceful, beautiful moment isn’t necessarily going to last.
That qualifier—”isn’t necessarily going to last”—tells viewers everything they need to know. Peace in Taylor Sheridan’s universe is temporary at best.
Season 3 promises to test whether family bonds can withstand business pressures, cartel threats, and three strong-willed men learning to work together rather than against each other.