Much like creator Taylor Sheridan’s other works (notably Yellowstone), Landman is a sweeping epic about the modern American dream that doubles as an intricate family drama. It mostly succeeds on the former front: Billy Bob Thorton and Jon Hamm go head to head as the gritty roughneck and the slick billionaire, respectively. The series is at its best when it shows us how tough, cruel, and eventually vulnerable these men can be. But it creaks on the latter front: Thorton isn’t as convincing as a family man. And the female members of the family are so thinly drawn that it’s hard to see them as anything more than caricatures. But Sheridan has redeemed himself a couple of times when it comes to female characterization, so I can only assume they’ll get better as more seasons roll in. Landman isn’t exactly as gripping or thrilling as it could’ve been, but it has enough appeal (mostly from Thorton and Hamm) to keep you seated.

We’re so lucky to have Hamm back in television.