Taylor Sheridan’s Landman is heading into Emmy nominations voting with a case it has not had before: ratings power, precursor support and a real chance to crack a category that has long resisted Sheridan’s shows. The second season of the Paramount+ drama has already picked up an Actor Award nomination for best cast of a drama series, while Billy Bob Thornton earned a Critics Choice nod for best drama series actor.
That matters now because the Television Academy’s nominations vote runs from June 11 to June 22, and this is the moment when campaign momentum can turn into a nomination line. Landman, a show about a family in the oil business, is not arriving as a small play from a niche streamer. It is now the most-watched original series in Paramount+ history, which gives Sheridan and the show’s cast a louder argument than they have had in previous awards cycles.
Thornton said he and the team were surprised the series traveled so far. They expected it to appeal to Middle America, maybe not even the coasts, he said, and the result was something bigger than they had planned for. Season 1 had already brought him a Globe nomination, and season 2 has now added recognition from the Actor Awards for both ensemble and stunt ensemble, a sign that the industry is at least paying closer attention.
Even so, Sheridan’s track record with the Emmys is still a stubborn one. His shows — from Yellowstone and 1883 to Tulsa King, 1923, Mayor of Kingstown, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Lioness, Landman and the upcoming The Madison and Dutton Ranch — have attracted massive audiences and strong reviews, but they have collected only nine Emmy nominations and zero wins. The Academy has mostly limited its recognition to technical categories such as production design, score, cinematography, stunt coordination and costumes.
That gap is what makes this vote feel different. Yellowstone managed top-tier attention elsewhere, including Producers Guild, Critics Choice and Actor nominations for its fourth season, while Kevin Costner won a Golden Globe for season five and Sam Elliott took an Actor Award for 1883. But none of that has yet broken the Emmy seal on Sheridan’s biggest commercial success. If Landman misses again, the message is that broad audience and strong reviews still are not enough. If it gets through, Sheridan finally has an awards door open on one of his most watched shows.
The next step is plain: voters decide between June 11 and June 22, and Landman will find out whether its biggest audience yet is finally enough to bring Sheridan a major Emmy breakthrough.
