6 Movies To Watch If You Like Taylor Sheridan's Landman (That Are Even Better)

Published Sep 21, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

Karlis has been obsessing over television and movie news since he first learned how to read. He has worked in tech, as a musician, and in journalism with a well-rounded knowledge base of pop-culture throughout the eras. He claims that he has memorized the entire Internet Movie Database, and to date no one has been able to refute this.
Holding a Bachelor's Degree in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University, Karlis loves to examine the intersections of popular science-fiction and culture. His latest novel MASS. is available now on Amazon and examines a world where obesity has become a federal crime.

Landman is one of the best shows today, and after the incredible finale of season 2, many are looking for great films that are similar to the series to scratch the same itch. Among Taylor Sheridan's countless shows, Landman really stands out as an interesting, dark, and intelligent look at the oil industry and its inner workings, featuring memorable characters in West Texas.

Billy Bob Thornton's movies and shows have shown the actor's unmatched charisma over an outstanding career. However, his recent turn as Tommy Norris is one of the strongest roles he has ever played. Injecting the part that was clearly written for him with dry humor and his fantastic screen presence, Thornton grounds the entire show, providing a compelling central figure.

With that said, Thornton is not the only standout in Landman's fantastic cast. Ali Larter, Demi Moore, and Jon Hamm have all been excellent additions to the world, and have been backed by a supporting cast filled with appearances by memorable performers, including Andy Garcia and Michael Peña. This stunning cast gives the story even more excellent dramatic weight.

Still, to date, there are only 20 episodes of Landman. And while each one is eminently rewatchable, audiences need a great many more options in order to scratch the same itch. Fortunately, there are a plethora of other fantastic movies available that tap into some of the same ideas as Landman, and each one is a must-see.

Killers Of The Flower Moon

One of Martin Scorsese's best movies, the 2023 drama Killers of the Flower Moon, is a stunning cinematic achievement. Built around a stellar cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, the film chronicles a series of murders in 1920s Oklahoma that led to the founding of the FBI.

Based on the stunning non-fiction work by New Yorker staff writer David Grann, the film looks deeply into the corrupting power and influence of oil. After the Osage people were moved to inhospitable land, it was discovered to be chock-full of valuable oil, making them immediately overwhelmingly wealthy.

Seeing the reactions toward this from American profiteers reveals a dark time in Western history. However, it is also an important period to reflect on. In this, Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon covers some of the same important thematic territory that remains relevant in stories like Landman today.

Fargo

One of the most interesting components of Landman is how the series is able to weave in dark and dry humor without taking away from the efficacy of its heavy and powerful drama. In this, the film seems to draw at least a little bit of influence from one of the Coen brothers' strongest films.

Fargo balances a twisted story of murders in small-town America with a cast of characters who are just heightened enough to still feel real. Injecting the darkness with sharp humor, the film does a fantastic job in telling a story that feels just as resonant as the most difficult moments seen on Landman.

Of course, Fargo was also later made into a fantastic anthology series on FX. And, notably, Landman's star Billy Bob Thornton memorably played twisted hitman Lorne Malvo on that show, making the Fargo franchise even more inherently tied to Landman. It remains a perfect watch while waiting for the next season.

Hell Or High Water

Hell or High Water has a great deal in common with Landman. Both stories were written by Taylor Sheridan, and each deals with the impacts of discovering oil, including both the merits and difficulties that that can entail. Both feature strong casts, and each is set in Texas.

With all that said, Hell or High Water is a stunning film that genuinely stands on its own. Telling the story of a pair of brothers forced into crime to save their family ranch after discovering oil on the property, the movie taps into difficult issues of class disparity, poverty, and the destructive power of big banks.

A smart drama with a great cast, including Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges, this end to Sheridan's American Frontier trilogy showed his skill as a writer. So many of the themes that have become central to his work since are seen here in this excellent 2016 neo-Western release.

Friday Night Lights

Before Friday Night Lights became one of the best shows on television, it was a book full of fantastic reporting by sports writer Buzz Bissinger, chronicling the impact of a high school football team in Odessa, Texas on their larger community. A powerful work, the book's 2004 film adaptation told its shocking true story.

When America cares deeply about something, whether that is oil or high school football, there is an interesting story at its heart to examine. Taking a look at the community around the Permian Panthers, the film puts an important focus on the destructive and obsessive components of that powerful passion.

While the fictionalized show might be the better remembered adaptation, the film does a fantastic job of showing the importance of football to the state of Texas. Featuring another excellent turn by Billy Bob Thornton, this unique examination of American culture remains a must-watch.

How To Blow Up A Pipeline

The oil industry is an incredibly influential force in America, and this excellent climate thriller does a fantastic job of capturing another side of those conversations. While Landman is largely focused on the machinations of industry and ownership, this stunning film takes a much more destructive lens to the topic of oil.

Sharing the West Texas setting with the popular series, How to Blow Up a Pipeline's title is apt. The film chronicles the attempts of eight young activists who work to set bombs at two critical points in an oil pipeline in order to affect the oil industry and create some kind of systemic change.

The film deals with poverty and the difficulty of taking action against the enormous scope of the fossil fuels industry. An important film that takes a very human look at the oil industry and its destructive impacts, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is an essential watch.

There Will Be Blood

Image via MovieStillsDB

One of Paul Thomas Anderson's best films, and widely considered to be one of the best films of the 21st century, There Will Be Blood is a stunning cinematic achievement. Daniel Day-Lewis gives the best performance of his career as the ruthless oil tycoon, Daniel Plainview.

The film looks at the price of ambition and shows the corrupting powers of wealth. As Plainview rises in the world of oil and becomes richer and richer, his humanity slowly drips away. This cold and calculating look at oil and power is terrifying, brilliant, and compulsively rewatchable all at once.

Components of this characterization can be seen throughout Landman. While Tommy Norris approaches the industry with a much more pragmatic edge, there are still some terrifying shades of Plainview that are able to shine through.

• 

  Billy Bob Thornton

  Tommy Norris

• 

  Ali Larter

  Angela Norris