From the moment Landman starts, you can’t help but be drawn into a fascinating world of oilmen, roughnecks, cartel El Jefes, and a giant heaping spoonful of Texas drawl. Right away, the series pulls no punches and turns the tables on the viewer like no other. Think I’m wrong? Hardly.

That’s because no one can act their way out of a hood like Billy Bob Thornton does in Landman. Brought to a cartel meeting with his hands tied behind his back and his face covered, he pulls no punches. He tells the dangerous, armed guards that the land is now owned by big Texas oil, and if they don’t comply, he’ll bring the full power of the federal government down on them.

It is a stunning scene that sets up a series that is one of the best on American television.

Billy Bob Thorton in...