“Landman” uses the oil industry as a modern Wild West, combining corporate power, dangerous fieldwork and boomtown life. Its central quote—“First come the dreamers, then the bankers, then the salesmen, then the sharks, then the desperate, and then the thieves”—summarises how ambition, money, exploitation and crime shape these communities.

The series follows Tommy Norris, a crisis manager for M-Tex in Midland, Texas, as he navigates workers, executives, lawyers and cartel interests. The hierarchy is unstable: aspiring newcomers can rise, powerful figures can fall, and success often depends as much on luck as on planning, reflecting the unpredictable nature of the oil market.