‘Landman’ co-creator Christian Wallace on how TCU adds authenticity to the show
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‘Landman’ Season 2
Get ready for the second season of the hit Paramount+ show with exclusive interviews and coverage from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
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“Landman” co-creator Christian Wallace said the show’s success has exceeded his expectations.
The series was one of the most-watched shows on television last year, with more than 35 million viewers tuning in for the season 1 premiere. It’s a new, massive audience for Wallace, who cut his teeth as a writer for Texas Monthly.
As for why the show has seen such huge success, Wallace said it’s a testament to how a personal experience can lead to a universal truth.
“Because even though it’s a specific place with a specific industry and all that, at the end of the day, I was telling a story about home and family,” Wallace said.
Ahead of the show’s return on Sunday, Wallace spoke to the Star-Telegram about upping the stakes and how TCU fits into the new season.
The conversation came after Wallace and a few of his “Landman” cohorts returned to Fort Worth last week for a red carpet premiere at the Modern Art Museum. Wallace also recently discussed adapting his “Boomtown” podcast into the show at a Lone Star Film Festival event.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Star-Telegram: I want to start with season 1. Yes, you make this show with some big names in Taylor Sheridan and Billy Bob Thornton. But it becomes such a huge thing and one of the most watched seasons of television last year. What do you make of that?
Christian Wallace: It continues to exceed my expectations, as far as just the reach of this show, and how much people care about it. Anywhere I go with Billy [Bob], or Jacob [Lofland], or Michelle [Randolph] and Ali [Larter], we’re in New York right now. It’s amazing just how many people will stop them to be like, “I love this show.” We’re in midtown Manhattan and people are just stopping us to tell us that. It’s just cool how it has resonated with such a diverse demographic, from one part of the country to the other. People are tuning in and caring about this show.
S-T: Being from West Texas and working as a roughneck, this industry is a big part of your life. I’m curious for you what it’s been like to go from writing at Texas Monthly, which has major play across the state, to something like “Landman” that puts you on a national and international stage?
Wallace: I do think it’s kind of a testament to how a very personal truth and a very personal experience can be really a universal truth. I think by telling a story that was so personal to me about a place that I’m from and grew up, it resonates with people. Because even though it’s a specific place with a specific industry and all that, at the end of the day, I was telling a story about home and family. That is something that is universal. This show is building on that.
We’re telling this very specific story in a setting that I think a lot of people find interesting, because it is so different and unique. Of course, you know, Billy is making everybody laugh. But also it’s speaking on these certain universal truths about family and home and what it means to love each other as a family. That’s partially why it’s all resonating.
S-T: It’s a big family show and there are so many moving parts. Monty (Jon Hamm) died in the season 1 finale and now Tommy (Thornton) is president of the company, working alongside Monty’s wife Cami (Demi Moore). How do you up the ante going into this new season?
Wallace: Taylor’s good at a lot of things, but one of them is always being able to find ways to push the envelope forward. If I think a scene might go one way, Taylor will find ways to turn it up a few more notches. He’s always doing that. He’s always finding ways to just crank up the action or the drama or the humor. You see that over and over again this season. Specifically, with the different characters, none of them are static. They’re all evolving and being thrust into environments, new roles, and seeing them navigate these changes is part of what makes season 2 so fun.
S-T: I’m curious how TCU fits into the new season. Texas Tech is mentioned a few times in the first season, and now we see Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) attend TCU in season 2. How did you reach that story decision, and what’s the process like working with a huge university?
Wallace: We have really good relationships with TCU. It’s important with us, shooting in Fort Worth, we are working alongside a lot of the great institutions of that city, and TCU is for sure one of those. It’s really a huge honor to get to work at a place like TCU, like shooting on their campus and all that.
It just makes sense for our show. We have these young characters and Texas Tech, TCU, that’s a part of our culture. Everything from the football programs to like the petroleum engineering department at Texas Tech is probably responsible for cranking out more of our oil and gas guys than almost anywhere in the state. It’s a true part of the story. It’s something that adds to the authenticity of the story we’re telling.
S-T: Speaking of that, we’ve spoken a few times about what Fort Worth means to the show. But you guys are also filming in these small towns around the area like Benbrook, Springtown and Mineral Wells. Do you have any special memories from working in these towns?
CW: The first one that pops into my mind, because every time we go to Jacksboro, which we shoot out there quite a bit, because it looks a lot like the Permian Basin. There’s nothing around once you get out. One of the things that we do there is, once we get going and we’re shooting, I’ll sneak off to go to Herd’s Burgers. I will just grab like 30 burgers and go back to set and just start passing them out. We love those burgers so much, they’re so good. It’s just like a fun thing. We always look forward to going there.
Now that we’ve used these locations multiple times, we all know the challenges and the pleasures that each location is going to present. I have a real soft spot for that, and I have a very soft spot for Herd’s.
“Landman” season 2 premieres Sunday on Paramount+.
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 2:32 PM.
