‘landman’ star kayla wallace talks taylor sheridan's latest series
'when calls the heart' alum says latest addition to 'yellowstone' creator's tv empire like nothing we've seen
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as the mastermind behind yellowstone and all of the prequels and spinoffs that series has given birth to, writer-director taylor sheridan knows how to craft compelling stories for the small screen. so it should come as no surprise that his latest show, landman (now streaming on paramount+), is another hit. inspired by journalist christian wallace’s celebrated boomtown podcast, sheridan’s newest high-stakes family drama is set in the rugged world of the west texas oil and gas industry.
the 10-episode series follows tommy norris (billy bob thornton), a no-nonsense fixer in charge of managing an oil patch that’s hit with disaster when several employees are killed on the job. his life is complicated further when a truck slams into one of the company’s stolen planes in the middle of a drug deal.
his ex-wife (ali larter) and daughter (1923’s michelle randolph) are incapable of understanding the high-pressure stakes of his job, while his son (jacob lofland) seems to be totally unable to asses the risks as he fearlessly pursues life as a roughneck.
then there’s his boss monty (jon hamm) at the fictional m-tex oil who lives life away from the grime, eating at the fanciest restaurants with his glamorous wife (demi moore) who wants to see all of these problems just disappear.
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like all shows in the sheridan universe (he’s also behind tulsa king, mayor of kingstown and lioness), the ensemble mix adds to its strong lineup of secondary characters with b.c.’s kayla wallace playing rebecca falcone, a ruthless attorney who is sent to help tommy deal with a myriad of potential lawsuits.
kayla wallace in a scene from the paramount+ series “landman.”
paramount+
wallace, who is best known for playing fiona miller on when calls the heart, says the multi-layered story at play in landman is exactly what viewers have come to expect from sheridan.
“he’s an incredible writer,” wallace, 36, tells postmedia in an interview. “whether they’re part of something crazy and the villain, or they’re the protagonist, he shows the humanity in everybody. in landman you see that. you see similar themes to shows like yellowstone about family and community, and on top of that, he knows how to create these exciting, compelling rollercoaster-like stories that people just grab on to.”
in this week’s fourth episode, rebecca delivers a blistering monologue to a roomful of attorneys that may have underestimated her. “think they hired me because i’m pretty? i charge 900 dollars an hour, you a**hole, and you’re real close to finding out why,” she rants.
devoted fans of hallmark’s when calls the heart know that wallace has embodied a strong character in the past, but she says rebecca is on another level.
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“she commands rooms, she’s quick on her feet and she’s a shark,” wallace says.
kayla wallace in a scene from the paramount+ series “landman.”
paramount+
as the season progresses, rebecca and tommy, who start off as adversaries as he slings michelob ultras at a roadside bar, while she “casually walks off a private jet and gets into her mercedes,” will have to learn to work together.
“there’s two types of people that work in the patch: dreamers and losers,” tommy sermonizes early on. “used to be that way in the whole nation. failures headed out west to either die or succeed. all the way to california. but there’s not any dreamers out there anymore. there’s thieves and fools. this is where dreamers come now. and losers come here to win.”
“tommy’s just got a lot coming at him and i’m just another one there to stick a thorn in his side,” wallace says of the interplay between the two. “we have a great dynamic to play with.”
similar to yellowstone’s “cowboy camp,” which gave some of the cast members a lesson in how to ride horses and work a ranch, sheridan put some of his landman stars through a roughneck camp so they would know how to work in an oil field.
but not wallace. she had a different task. “i had to practice walking in stilettos on the gravel,” she grins.
like yellowstone, which turned beth dutton (kelly reilly) into a force to be reckoned with as its seasons progressed, landman also boasts a solid roster of strong female characters.
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“taylor’s characters are so dynamic. you never know what you’re going to get from them,” wallace explains. “we all have many sides to us and that’s what i love about his characters, and rebecca. nobody is one-sided. you get to create a well-rounded character that goes through a crazy arc. all of his characters do. it’s a gift to play that out.”
kayla wallace in a scene from “landman.”
paramount+
as landman extends sheridan’s creative empire, wallace is confident that his fans will latch on to this new saga that detours into west texas.
“the world of oil and gas hasn’t been depicted (on tv). i haven’t seen a series like this,” she says. “and he makes you really feel like you’re there. it’s this dirty, exciting scary world that we all get to walk into and see how these people’s day-to-day lives are affected. it’s brand new. and that’s something we’ve never seen before.”
the first four episodes of landman are now streaming on paramount+, with new instalments available on sundays.
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