Plus, how the characters’ Season 1 journeys could impact them in Season 2
If you are as much of a Taylor Sheridan fan as we are, then you know the writer and creator loves to make complex family trees that can sometimes be hard to follow, and his Texas-based oil drama Landman is no exception. From rekindling with ex-wives to siblings who are somehow seldom seen together on screen, it can be hard to figure out who’s who and how they are related to each other. Hence, the creation of an entire Landman family tree, highlighting the relationships between everyone in the Norris family. Read on for more.
Tommy Norris
Tommy Norris—played by Billy Bob Thornton—is the family patriarch known for his sarcasm, honest advice and no-nonsense attitude. In the show, he has two children named Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) and Cooper (Jacob Lofland), whom he shares with his ex-wife-turned-girlfriend, Angela Norris (Ali Larter). We don’t know anything about his family history, but that could change in the second season, which is currently filming in Texas.
“I’m very happy that Taylor added humor to the show, where it’s not just constant drama because those [types of shows] are not like real life usually,” Thornton told Country Living in November 2024 of his character’s more comedic side. “People aren’t just melancholy or mad every minute of their lives or in danger every moment—there are lighter moments in this, which I was very happy about.”
Angela Norris
Angela is the ex-wife of Tommy and the mother of Ainsley and Cooper. She did remarry; however, she left her husband for Tommy about halfway through Season 1. Similar to Tommy, her extended family remains a mystery, but it could potentially expand in Season 2.
“There are so many different parts of this show, and I think what has connected with audiences is that all these tones work together in Taylor’s [Sheridan] vision. First season, we didn’t know if that was going to work. [But] I saw his vision unfold,” Larter told The Hollywood Reporter of the backlash her character received earlier this year for being oversexualized, adding with a laugh. “I’m also, like, ‘Objectify me. C’mon.” Nobody’s putting me in a position that I’m not comfortable being in. I have two children. I’ve been married for 19 years. I love playing this character. If there was something I was uncomfortable with, I wouldn’t do it. What’s more uncomfortable is that people are so uncomfortable with their sexuality.”
Cooper Norris
Cooper Norris is the eldest son of Tommy and Angela, and the older brother of Ainsley, although they rarely interact with each other on screen. He does follow in his father’s footsteps and works in the oil industry, but Cooper isn’t as much of a natural as the Norris that came before him—a plotline that could maybe change in Season 2, depending on what direction Sheridan and the rest of the writers’ room decide to take.
“I love Cooper because we’re building him as we go. He’s still learning who he is as a man, and we get to walk alongside him as he figures things out. So I don’t think that challenge has fully presented itself yet,” Lofland told Cowboys and Indians Magazine in May. “What draws me to Cooper is that so much of what he’s going through—whether it’s personal struggles, emotional moments or tough decisions—are things I’ve dealt with in my own life in one form or another. They’re real, human emotions. And that goes back to Taylor’s [Sheridan] writing—there are very few people who can put that kind of raw honesty on the page like he does.”
Ainsley Norris
Rounding out the Norris family is Ainsley, the youngest daughter of Tommy and Angela and Cooper’s only sibling. She is a high school senior, whose main plotlines revolve around boys, football and trying to figure out her college plans—all of which will most likely continue on Season 2.
“When I first read [the scripts], I had to digest. And then, it just became like, that’s who she [Ainsley] was. She never surprised me in a way, once I found her,” Randolph told People magazine of her character in January. “Though she is 17, I think as she gets older, she’ll put up more boundaries and understand the way the world works more. But as far as she’s concerned, right now, this is the way she’s been raised, and she’s going to figure out if she thinks that’s right or wrong or she wants to change it.”
