Taylor Sheridan’s Landman returns for its highly anticipated third season in summer 2026 on Paramount+, and early reports suggest it’s the most ambitious and ruthless chapter yet in the Texas oil dynasty saga. After two seasons of corporate intrigue, family feuds, and moral compromises, Season 3 promises to escalate the battle for control of the Permian Basin while introducing a new generation of players who threaten to upend everything the older characters built.

The series continues to center on Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton), the grizzled crisis manager who has spent his life putting out fires — both literal and figurative — for the biggest oil companies in Texas. Season 2 ended with a seismic shift: Tommy’s ex-wife Rebecca (Ali Larter) took over a rival independent operator, setting up a direct family-versus-family conflict. Season 3 picks up six months later, with Rebecca aggressively expanding her company through aggressive land grabs and new drilling permits, while Tommy is forced to work for a massive conglomerate that wants to crush her operation — and her.

The emotional core of the new season is the growing rift between Tommy and his daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), who has fully embraced her mother’s side of the business. Ainsley is no longer the wide-eyed college student; she’s now a sharp, ambitious executive willing to play dirty to win. Their confrontations are described as some of the most emotionally charged scenes Thornton has ever filmed. “This is about legacy,” Thornton told Variety in a recent interview. “Tommy spent his life protecting the industry, but now the industry — and his own blood — are coming for him.”

The new season introduces several high-profile additions to the cast. Early buzz points to Matthew McConaughey in a major recurring role as a charismatic but ruthless Texas oil baron who sees opportunity in the chaos. His character is rumored to be a former mentor to Tommy who has reinvented himself as a green-energy investor — creating a fascinating ideological clash between old-school oil and the new “sustainable” future. Other rumored guest stars include Josh Brolin and Tim McGraw, though Paramount has not confirmed casting beyond the core ensemble.

Sheridan’s writing remains the heartbeat of Landman. The scripts are packed with authentic Texas dialogue, morally gray decisions, and brutal betrayals. Season 3 reportedly delves deeper into the environmental and political fallout of the oil boom — fracking controversies, land rights disputes, and the growing tension between traditional energy and renewable pressures. One insider described the tone as “Yellowstone meets Succession in the oil patch — family, power, money, and no one gets out clean.”

The visual style continues to impress. Shot on location across West Texas, the series captures the vast, unforgiving beauty of the Permian Basin — dusty rigs, endless horizons, and the constant hum of industry. The production design is meticulous: weathered trucks, corporate boardrooms that feel like war rooms, and homes that show the stark divide between oil wealth and struggling locals.

Critics who have seen early cuts are calling Season 3 “the best yet” — darker, more personal, and more politically charged than the first two. Thornton’s performance is said to reach new depths as Tommy faces the possibility that everything he’s built may be destroyed by the very people he raised. Larter’s Rebecca is equally compelling — no longer the supportive ex, but a formidable adversary willing to burn every bridge to win.

For fans, the return of Landman Season 3 is more than a new chapter — it’s a continuation of Sheridan’s mission to tell unfiltered stories about American power, family, and the cost of ambition. As the oil fields keep pumping, the drama keeps rising.

The wait is almost over. The rigs are running. And the fight for the future of the Permian — and the Norris family — is just beginning.

Stream Seasons 1–2 on Paramount+ now — Season 3 is coming summer 2026.