What I Love And Hate About Landman

One of the hottest shows of 2024 is Landman on Paramount and Paramount Plus. It’s from the creator of the highly popular series Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan If you’re familiar with that show than you’re going to see the similarities between the two shows even though Landman is not a spin-off but rather a entirely different show.

Landman stars Billy Bob Thornton as the old wise “land man” Tommy Norris who has spent his life in the rough and tumble oil business. He works for the ever handsome and super stressed big boss Monty Miller played by John Hamm, who is married to a non stressed Demi Moore.

The first episode we are introduced to Tommy Norris apparently has been abducted by the very bad cartel who still want to use the area for their nefarious drug running business. Tommy is handcuffed to a chair with a burlap bag over his head all the while telling the cartel as he is in the driver’s seat.

Tommy is a grizzled, 3 pack a day kind of guy who is quick with a comeback for anything that is said to him, no matter how threatening. His sheer toughness and constant “been there done that “ attitude crosses over to the absurd and into an almost cartoon character area.

Tommy’s ex wife Angela, played by Ali Larter comes back into his life, because she misses his warmth and charm, just kidding that can’t be it. We’re not sure what she misses about him but, she leaves her multi millionaire husband and all of her belongings to rejoin. Tommy has an oil Landman’s wife.

Angela is written in such a highly sexualized persona, but you can only wonder what show creator Taylor Sheridan thinks of women. This is really the main problem with Landman, Sheridan writes scripts that are at best hard to believe and at worse, very low rent. When it comes to his female characters, they seem to either be bitchy, dumb or obsessed with their bodies and sex.

Tommy’s 17 year old Aynsley is played by Michelle Randolph, who in real life is 27 years old, and maybe that explains why the character is a tad over played as a typical teenager. Let’s put it this way. If this girl was your daughter, you would lock her in her bedroom at night, and also consider hiring an armed guard to keep boys out of her room and her in it.

The reason I watched the entire 10 episodes, even though the writing was sometimes too hard to believe and the characters were mostly people you wouldn’t want to associate with, it is a fascinating story.

A good show will teach you things that you didn’t know, and that’s exactly what happens with Landman is you learn about the oil business from the bottom up, and how rough that life can be, whether you are working in the field or betting at all on oil speculation.

Consider this a tepid recommendation of the show. When it’s all said and done, it is very entertaining and as you get into it, you will begin to enjoy the characters and learning about the oil business. You will also begin to understand why Old Billy Bob smokes 3 packs a day. Oh boy. Still give it a watch because you will learn about not only the oil business, but you will also learn from the wisdom that is Tommy Norris.

Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee is an incredibly popular show. However, some of the best episodes have gone underappreciated!

Some of the biggest comedians in the world have appeared on the hit show that's currently streaming on Netflix. There's an episode that reunited Jerry with former collaborator Larry David and comedy legends like Martin Short, Dave Chappelle, and Eddie Murphy. However, some of the episodes with comedians you might not be as familiar with are some of the best and most underappreciated episodes of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.

When an episode features one of the best comedians in the game, like Ricky Gervais or Chris Rock, you go into it knowing it's going to be a good episode. These guys are the best of the best! They aren't going to come on the show and miss. It's not happening—and it doesn't.

Likewise, when Jerry reunites with his former Seinfeld co-stars or collaborators, you know you're going to be in for a treat. The episode with Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is one of the best in the series, and nothing incredibly funny even happens! The 2 of them just have such great chemistry all these years later that it's still gold when they start riffing together. They even share some behind-the-scenes moments from Seinfeld, and it's a fantastic episode. The ones with Larry David and Michael Richards are great as well. Larry is in his purest form during the episode, he's one of few people I've seen appear on the show and not drink coffee, opting for tea, instead. He tells a never shared joke during the episode about the Hunchback of Notre Dame that is laugh out loud funny. Larry is one-of-a-kind.

According to Deadline, there were 84 episodes of the show made, and that's a lot to choose from! It can be difficult to choose which ones you want to watch next once you've gone through all your favorite comedians and the big names. So, let me help you out! I feel like I've seen almost all of them and while very few are duds, some rise to the top compared to others. It was very difficult to narrow it down to only 5 underappreciated episodes of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.

So, before we get to the list, I have to share some Honorable Mentions. First, there's Jon Stewart in Season 4 Episode 5. Jon is so relatable and is one of the more likable humans to appear on the show. He's just like a friend all of us have, only he's incredibly hilarious and successful. I came out of that episode liking him much more. Zach Galifianakis (Season 10 Episode 1) was adorable. The episode ended with a special Between Two Ferns that was hilarious at at Jerry's expense. Finally, as a massive Seth Rogen fan obviously, I enjoyed his episode (Season 11 Episode 2). Ready for the list? Let's get to it!

https://youtu.be/TIqaKGAnLdQ?si=GVXYVUTue-J-4k2y Bob Einstein's episodes of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee are must-sees. He was the first guest to be brought back for a second appearance and after you see the first one, you'll certainly understand why. He's so funny! You might recognize him from playing Marty Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm or as satirical stuntman Super Dave. His back and forth with Jerry is one-of-a-kind. They might be my favorite episodes of the show, even better than the ones featuring my personal favorite comedians! May he Rest In Peace.

https://youtu.be/WY1JcIoV72k?si=CxvQ4hhqK5cF8Mae Regardless of how you feel about politics, Barack Obama was an incredibly interesting guest on the show. He was funny, courteous, and not afraid to give Jerry some digs. It was so cool to see a U.S. President on the show and getting a sense of who he is as a person outside of politics. He seems like a relatable guy and it was a fantastic episode. It kind of brought out a different Jerry that you don't see with the comedians on the show. For once, Jerry isn't the one in charge. It's different but it's great.

https://youtu.be/UvCnI2tMY2o?si=MWduqGU-1AY8Jm2K Tina Fey is a national treasure. If Mean Girls wasn't enough to prove that, or her performance as Liz Lemon on 30 Rock, then this episode of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee should do the trick. I want to be friends with her! I think we'd get along! She's hilarious and comes off as relatable and human. It sounds like she loves food as much as she loves comedy. I might be in love with her.

https://youtu.be/DCYUClhHgkk?si=4bVJecAGTPg7kfMC Of course Will Ferrell was great on Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee. Despite not being known as a stand-up, he cut his teeth in sketch comedy and made a name for himself on SNL. He and Jerry appear on the same wave-length throughout the episode and often don't need words to understand what each other is thinking. Including an awkward moment with a waitress that they both immediately recognize as strange, but are too nice to really say anything about. It's hilarious. He shares the story of his audition on Saturday Night Live and seems like a guy anybody would get along with.

https://youtu.be/smJLBIF-HW8?si=s146JkQoHOHxdEiT Norm MacDonald's passing was one that hit me hard. He was always one of my favorite comedians and there's truly nobody else like him. Many comics try to replicate it but will never be able to accomplish that. He's truly one-of-a-kind. In the episode, he shows that unique perspective he's known for. Nobody can straddle the proverbial line quite like Norm. In the episode, he shares his thoughts on the Cosby ordeal which ended up going viral. Without a doubt, it's one of the best episodes of the show. It was so good they should have just done every episode together and I would have been fine with that. Rest In Peace, Norm.