The gripping drama 'Landman' arrives on kykNET this February, bringing high-stakes Texas oil intrigue to local viewers in their mother tongue.
Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton plays the lead role of Tommy Norris in the Paramount+ hit TV series ‘Landman’. Pictures: Paramount
Gushing Texas “black gold” drama and star power, Paramount’s addictive oil field drama TV series Landman is heading to kykNET – in Afrikaans nogal!
In securing the dubbing rights to the Landman phenomenon, setting screens ablaze since its 2024 debut, kykNET’s Afrikaans version is one of only a few dubbed versions of the hit series available worldwide.
South African-born Hollywood actress Charlize Theron’s flippant statement that only “about 44 people” still speak Afrikaans
‘Landman’ on KykNET: What to know
From Sunday, 22 February, local viewers will be able to dive into the cut-throat West Texas fortune rush for oil as Billy Bob Thornton and the likes of Demi Moore hit South African screens with their “new voices”.
Note to Mzansi’s very own Hollywood star Charlize Theron: There will most definitely be more than 44 Afrikaans-speaking viewers who will be glued to their screens to lap up some Landman action in “Die Taal”.
“We are very excited to see how viewers will react to Landman – both those who will be watching the series for the first time, and those who have already seen the show in English on M-Net and now want to experience it in their mother tongue,” enthused Waldimar Pelser, M-Net Director of Premium Channels.
Pelser, however, warned future fans of the series that “it gets rather hot down there in Texas at times!”
‘Landman’: Taylor Sheridan gives Texas the ‘Yellowstone’ treatment
The drama series was created by Christian Wallace and Taylor Sheridan, who were also responsible for hit series such as Yellowstone with Kevin Costner, 1883 and 1923.
The action of Landman is set in West Texas and tells the interwoven story of a group of people – from the wildcat billionaires to the oilfield workers – whose lives revolve around the modern-day oil boom.
WATCH: ‘Landman’ S1 trailer
More dusty than ‘Dallas’ and less dark than ‘Let There Be Blood’, ‘Killer Moon’
The show is less “Dallas with JR Ewing, and more of a dusty, dirt-under-your-nails type tale featuring complex personalities”, according to Medium‘s Mohammed Brukner.
Despite delving into the themes of capitalism and morality, Landman does not quite descend into There Will Be Blood‘s unruly depths of darkness explored by oil tycoon Daniel Plainview.
Veteran actor Daniel Day Lewis won an Oscar for his masterful portrayal of Plainview’s all-consuming greed and thirst for power..
And thankfully, neither the bloody carnage depicted by director Martin Scorsese in his 2023 movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo di Caprio and Robert De Niro.
But let’s get back to Landman and Billy Bob Thornton…
Billy-Bob Thornton: The landman in ‘Landman’
Oscar-nominated veteran actor Billy Bob Thornton stars as the landman Tommy Norris. A landman acts as a go-between, brokering deals between oil companies and landowners.
The job entails negotiating rights for extraction and development while also considering the legal regulations, which a team of highly-paid lawyers naturally try to bend in favour of their employers.
But Landman does not only revolve around landowners and wealthy oil magnates. Western Texas borders Mexico, which means this area is also used by drug cartels as a distribution route.
Who’s who in ‘Landman’: Cast, characters and their ‘new voices’
A formidable team of translators, including Morné Coetzer, Janine Opperman and Francois le Roux, deftly managed to capture the atmosphere of this brilliant series in Afrikaans.
The dubbing directors are Rina Nienaber and De Waal Stemmet.
Main cast
Billy Bob Thornton
Tommy Norris (voiced by De Waal Stemmet) is a seasoned landman who works for M-Tex Oil and handles all their negotiations, but keeping everyone happy, from the oil magnates to the drug traffickers, is no mean feat.
Ali Larter
Angela (voiced by Natasja Jacobs) is Tommy’s ex-wife and the mother of his two children, Cooper and Ainsley.
Jon Hamm
Monty Miller (voiced by Charl van Heyningen) is the owner of M-Tex Oil and has a long-standing professional and personal relationship with Tommy.
Demi Moore
Cami Miller (voiced by Renske Jacobs) is Monty’s wife.
Supporting cast
Jacob Lofland:
- Cooper (voiced by Rowlen von Gericke) studied geology but quit his studies and now works for M-Tex as a hand on the oilfields.
Michelle Randolph
- Ainsley (voiced by Anré Buguegnon) is a high school student.
Kayla Wallace
- Rebecca Falcone (voiced by Sue Pyler) is a lawyer who does work for M-Tex Oil.
James Jordan
- Dale Bradley (voiced by Antowan Nöthling) is a petroleum engineer and a good friend of Tommy.
Colm Feore
- Nathan (voiced by Jakkie Groenewald) is an attorney and administrator at M-Tex Oil.
Paulina Chavez
- Ariana Medina (voiced by Claudia Jones) is a young widow whose husband died in an accident on one of M-Tex’s oilfields.
Third season of ‘Landman’ on the horizon…and Billy Bob Thornton will be there!
Filming of Landman began in February 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. The first two episodes aired on 17 November 2024, and the show became an instant international hit.
The finale of the first season, which consists of 10 episodes, aired on 12 January 2025. The second season has recently begun, and the contract to produce the third season was already signed in December 2025.
Fans can rest assured that Thornton will be back for Season 3 despite reports circulating that the tough-talking oil man could be leaving Landman after two seasons.
In an interview with USA Today, the 70-year-old actor calls the basis for the reports, “AI-generated crap”.
- Landman begins on Sunday, 22 February at 9pm on kykNET (DStv channel 144) and will also be available on DStv Stream and Catch Up. The series has an age restriction of 16.
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