Sam Elliott Is Coming Back to ‘Landman’! Here’s What Fans Can Expect From T.L. in Season 3
The beloved actor dishes on his future plans with Taylor Sheridan, filming dates and why he’s ‘all in’ on the hit show.
Anyone who watched Season 2 of Taylor Sheridan’s hit series Landman knows that Sam Elliott stole the show. Not only was T.L. Norris funny and philosophical, but he was also the perfect foil for his on-screen son, Tommy Norris, played by Billy Bob Thornton. To make matters even sweeter, Elliott has confirmed that he will be in Season 3, which is expected to start filming this spring. To learn more about Elliott’s Landman journey, including what to expect out of him next season, keep scrolling.
A look at Sam Elliott’s ‘Landman’ Season 2 journey
Elliott, 81, was officially announced as a Landman Season 2 cast member back in April of 2025. It marked the second time he had worked with Sheridan, with the first time being the hit Yellowstone prequel 1883, and was a very exciting piece of information for fans. “It’s a joy to work with him [Sheridan]. He’s all-powerful and all that, but he’s a nice man on top of it. He’s a taskmaster,” the actor said, per Taste of Country. “He told me in the beginning when we first started this thing [1883]. He was trying to convince me to do it; he said, ‘You’re gonna hate me at the end of this f-ck-ng.’ thing. We’re approaching the end, and I don’t hate him, so we’ll see what happens.”
Once he got to Landman, Elliott played Thomas “T.L.” Norris, the father of Tommy (Thornton), who only reunites with his son after his wife Dorothy passes away. They eventually decide to move in together, and Tommy even gets his father a “physical therapist” named Cheyenne (Francesca Xuereb), who actually turns out to be a stripper.
“[With T.L. ‘s storyline], it’s just on the page,” Elliott told Variety in November of 2025. “I just wanted to be open to whatever comes my way. You don’t look at a piece of material—or at least I don’t look at a piece of material—and say, ‘I’d really love to cry here,’ or, ‘Really love to make the audience cry,’ or whatever. It just has to come naturally.”
“One of the great gifts about Taylor’s material is that it just allows that kind of emotion to flow,” the actor continued. “I spent a good part of my time in tears this entire season, so it wasn’t something I expected, but it’s just something that happened.”
What could happen to T.L. in ‘Landman’ Season 3
At the end of Season 2, T.L. was asked by Tommy to join his new oil company, CTT (Cooper, Tommy and Thomas) Oil Exploration and Cattle. He will manage the drilling operations and most likely continue to explore his chemistry with Cheyenne. All of those things will most likely be huge plot points for him in Season 3.
As of publication, Elliott has confirmed these rumors and discussed when filming will start. “I’m excited to see what unfolds in Season 3,” Elliott told Extra TV in November 2025, per our sister site US Weekly. “I mean, we’re talking about Season 2, but that’s the backstory for us at this point. We’re all kind of looking toward April and May [of 2026] when we start shooting Season 3.”
In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor also shared how long he plans to stay on the show. “Whether everybody agrees to come back to the table, Billy’s set for four years. My deal was for two. So we’ll see. Like him [Thornton], I’m all in on this at the moment,” the actor said, “I keep using the same four letters all the time when talking about Taylor Sheridan — it’s a gift every time to be able to do his material and work in these worlds he sets up, particularly when it’s somebody like Billy and the rest of this cast.”
