The Dark Knight (2008)
• PT2H32M
Overview
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.
Director: Production Team
Full Story & Plot Synopsis
RELEASE DATE, PLATFORMS & BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE
Created by Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, *Landman* made its global television premiere on Paramount+ on November 17, 2024. As a high-budget streaming drama series produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, the show bypassed traditional cinema releases and theatrical box office metrics, instead tracking its success through subscriber acquisition, digital engagement, and platform viewership benchmarks.
Set against the bustling boomtowns of West Texas, the series immediately resonated with audiences, becoming one of Paramount+'s most-streamed original drama premieres of 2024. Driven by the star power of Billy Bob Thornton and Taylor Sheridan's established track record with hits like *Yellowstone*, *1883*, and *Mayor of Kingstown*, the series generated strong viewership numbers across North America and international markets, securing an early renewal for subsequent seasons.
WHERE TO WATCH & STREAMING AVAILABILITY
*Landman* is available to stream globally exclusively on **Paramount+**. Subscribers across supported tiers can watch all episodes in 4K Ultra HD resolution complete with High Dynamic Range (HDR10, Dolby Vision) and spatial audio options.
As a flagship Paramount+ original, Landman is not available on competing subscription streaming platforms such as Netflix, Max, Disney+, or Hulu. Individual episodes and full seasons are also accessible on transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) storefronts including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home (Vudu) for digital purchase.
INTRIGUING FACTS & TRIVIA
The series is directly adapted from Boomtown, a critically acclaimed 11-part podcast hosted by Christian Wallace that examined the modern oil and gas boom in the Permian Basin of West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.
Billy Bob Thornton headlines the series as Tommy Norris, a crisis executive for an oil company. Thornton was Sheridan's first and only choice for the role, marking their second major collaboration after Thornton's memorable cameo as Marshal Jim Courtright in the *Yellowstone* prequel series *1883*.
The production was filmed on location across Fort Worth, Texas, and surrounding West Texas oil fields to capture authentic industrial infrastructure. The crew utilized real active oil rigs, massive pumpjacks, and heavy drilling equipment, consulting with real-life oilmen and landmen to ensure the technical jargon, safety protocols, and corporate deal-making reflected authentic industry practices.
BACKSTORY & THEMATIC ANALYSIS
Set in the high-stakes, wildcat world of West Texas oil rigs, *Landman* offers an upstairs/downstairs look at the modern energy boom. A "landman" is an industry professional responsible for securing land rights, negotiating mineral leases, and managing crisis interventions between wealthy oil barons, local landowners, environmental regulators, and roughneck rig crews.
The narrative focuses on Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton), a weary, pragmatic landman navigating the volatile oil landscape for a powerful oil company executive, Monty Miller (Jon Hamm). Dealing with dangerous rig accidents, cartel intrusions near the border, environmental compliance battles, and chaotic family dynamics involving his ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter) and his son Cooper (Jacob Lofland)—who works as a roughneck on the frontlines of the drilling rigs—Tommy operates in a perpetual state of high-wire crisis management where millions of dollars and human lives hang in the balance with every deal.
Thematically, *Landman* is a gritty exploration of modern American capitalism, resource extraction, and human ambition. It examines the immense ecological, geopolitical, and personal costs required to power the modern world, contrasting the extreme wealth of corporate energy titans against the dangerous, physically grueling realities faced by working-class laborers on the rigs. Through Tommy's cynical yet fiercely protective lens, the show explores how greed, family duty, and survival intersect in a land driven entirely by black gold.
BEHIND-THE-SCENES INSIGHTS
Taylor Sheridan brought his signature visual style to *Landman*, relying on sweeping cinematography that captures the vast, sun-bleached horizons of the Permian Basin juxtaposed against towering steel oil derricks and industrial flames. Cinematographer Ben Richardson emphasized natural sunlight, harsh desert dust, and high-contrast night shots lit by industrial floodlights and burn-off flares.
The sound design plays an essential role in building the show's visceral atmosphere, layering the deafening roar of diesel engines, clanking drill pipes, pneumatic pressure releases, and howling Texas winds into every scene set on the rigs.
The musical score blends gritty outlaw country, blues-rock motifs, and subtle orchestral textures to ground the narrative in modern Western grit. Combined with sharp, quick-witted dialogue and grounded ensemble performances, *Landman* stands as a compelling, high-octane entry in modern television drama.