Landman is not exactly the first show that jumps to mind when you think of family-friendly television fare, but the show is becoming the most unlikely family show on television during Season 2.

What Is Landman About?

Landman follows the life and career of Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton), a landman working for M-Tex Oil in West Texas who later rises to become the company’s president.

Along the way, he faces a wide range of problems and threats — from a powerful drug cartel attempting to muscle in on their land to financial improprieties and other high-stakes challenges.

At home, Tommy navigates life with a colorful and complicated family that includes his ex — and possible future — wife Angela (Ali Larter); their children, son Cooper (Jacob Lofland) and daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph); and his father, TL (Sam Elliott).

What Role Does Family Play in Landman?

Family drama is a major element of Landman.

As the show has progressed into Season 2, we’re seeing a lot more backstory about Tommy’s difficult relationship with his parents and why he has such a dark view of the world.

The new season has also given each main character the chance to really develop more emotional layers, which really helps the viewer invest in their stories.

Wait … How Can You Call Landman a “Family Values” Show?

Obviously — with its proliferation of frank sexual talk, many instances of fairly extreme profanity, Thornton’s recent shocking full-frontal nude scene and subsequent offer to deal with breakfast in a truly unusual manner — Landman does not remotely resemble traditional family television, nor does it intend to.

However, I’d argue that Landman has something that no sanitized family sitcom or cuddly Lifetime movie could ever match: An underlying understanding of what really drives people.

Yes, the Norris family has some built-in problems, and the personalities are large, loud and over-the-top, resulting in some major conflict.

But as Season 2 goes on, we’re seeing new sides to all of these characters and their relationships, and it’s actually a lot of heartwarming family fare.

READ MORE: So THAT’s Where We’ve Seen Charlie From Landman Before!

Thornton plays his character with a world-weary air and a permanent eyeroll as he gets exasperated about one crazy thing after another, but underneath his drinking, cursing and seemingly general dislike for life itself, he’s actually a stand-up person who will stop at nothing for the people he loves — even if he complains about it the entire time.

So far in Season 2, we’ve seen him engage in an intensely emotional, very healing conversation with Cooper, who tells his dad that he did the best he could in raising him and that he loves him, bringing tears to his eyes that he does not acknowledge.

Then there’s Ainsley, who is tearful after hearing how his late mother treated him, resulting in a very bonding father-daughter conversation.

Season 2, Episode 7 of Landman also featured a pivotal scene between Tommy and TL, who uses himself as an example of what not to do, both as a father and a man.

“You’ve got it all,” TL tells Tommy about the importance of family, adding that he’s too stupid or angry to see it and that he’s throwing his life away on work in the same way his dad did.

That conversation leads to another, even more important emotional breakthrough, when Tommy finally realizes that his dad is right.

That leads to him really opening up to Angela about their tempestuous relationship, telling her that he realizes “what a gift it is” to have her back in his life after their divorce and subsequent reunion.

It also leads to her being vulnerable, in a side we really haven’t seen of the Angela character very much before.

“I just want to be loved,” she tells him as he reassures her.

Yes, it’s messy. Yes, it’s complicated. Yes, some of the characters seem to love each other more than they actually like each other.

But here’s the thing: isn’t that closer to what real family dynamics look like? This isn’t the sanitized, picture-perfect version of family life you’d see on The Brady Bunch or Growing Pains.

Landman digs into the kinds of issues you probably recognize from your own family: a few alcoholics in the mix, siblings who don’t quite mesh, and layers of generational trauma that everyone is trying to work through in their own imperfect ways.

Still, the characters keep showing up. They keep trying. They remain committed to moving forward together, no matter how uncomfortable or messy that process becomes.

There’s no neat bow tied on top — and that’s the point. It feels like real life, where no one can frustrate you quite like family, but they’re also the people who will be standing beside you when it actually matters.

What Happens Next on Landman Season 2?

Landman airs new episode every Sunday via Paramount+ streaming.