Taylor Sheridan Increased Demi Moore’s ‘Landman’ Role, For Better or Worse

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Truly great TV shows stay with audiences for years, and Landman is already generating a lot of buzz. Whether it will be discussed decades from now, like The Sopranos or Deadwood, is still uncertain. A more immediate question is whether it can surpass Yellowstone. That’s definitely within reach. While Season 2 of Taylor Sheridan’s modern Western had some weak spots, Season 1 was almost flawless – the biggest criticism being the character of Cami, played by Demi Moore.

Cami, introduced in the first season of the show as the wife of M-Tex CEO Monty (played by Jon Hamm), didn’t have much screen time. This left many viewers puzzled as to why a talented actress like her was underutilized. Fortunately, actress Moore shared that Taylor Sheridan had told her from the beginning that Cami’s role would expand later in the series, which it eventually did – though not in the way fans initially anticipated.

Season 1 Used Demi Moore Sparingly… for a Good Reason


Paramount+

I have to admit, I was a little surprised by how little we saw of Demi Moore in the first season. She’s a really accomplished actress – an Emmy nomination and four Golden Globe nods speak for themselves! But it makes sense when you hear why. Jon Hamm had always planned to only do one season, which was fair enough since his character, Monty, wasn’t the main focus. He got a great offer to lead a new show on Apple TV called Your Friends and Neighbors, and you can’t blame him for taking that!

Sheridan believed his wife, Cami Moore, would be the perfect choice to take over the role previously held by Hamm as the leader of M-Tex. Moore agreed to the plan and remained with the show, anticipating a larger role in Season 2. This wasn’t unexpected, as Taylor Sheridan consistently earns the trust of talented actors, as evidenced by the casts of his other series.

The first season concluded with Monty’s death after heart surgery. Before that, Cami’s role was limited to being a supportive wife – she mostly appeared at home, caring for Monty and meeting his needs, and wasn’t involved in his work. Season 2 saw a change for her, but unfortunately, she became known as one of the most irritating characters on TV.

Cami’s Choices Made ‘Landman’ Season 2 Hard To Watch


Paramount

Everyone expected Cami to be as charming as her husband when she took over at M-Tex. Instead, she turned out to be even more difficult than the notoriously bad boss from the movie Horrible Bosses, making a series of surprising and reckless decisions. While every show needs a villain, no one anticipated Cami would become the one frustrating fans so much.

The second season began strongly, with Demi Moore playfully recreating her famous bathroom mirror scene from the film The Substance. Things took a turn when Cami was disrespected by a group of young women who were targeting wealthy men at a luncheon for oil and banking leaders. She seized the moment, grabbing the microphone to firmly establish her authority. In an unplanned speech, she warned everyone that her leadership style would be tougher and more uncompromising than Monty’s. However, despite lacking any prior management experience, her performance on the job proved to be surprisingly poor.

Cami made a series of surprising choices, starting with a deal with Gallino to rescue her husband’s company, M-Tex, from $400 million in debt. Even though Tommy cautioned her that Gallino had ties to a cartel, she proceeded with the agreement, determined to save the business. She further stunned people by investing $420 million in a risky offshore natural gas project with very low odds of success, and then fired Tommy when he disagreed with her approach. It often seemed Cami was more focused on asserting her authority than making sound decisions.

Season 2 Ruined Demi Moore’s Recent Career Momentum


Mubi

Demi Moore’s performance in The Substance revitalized her career, and it seemed poised for continued success. The film, where she played a former TV star who risks everything with an experimental drug to regain her youth, earned her an Oscar nomination – many believed she deserved to win. With a bigger part in the second season of Landman, Moore appeared set to continue her momentum. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and a significant reason for that is the choices made by Taylor Sheridan.

She represents all the misguided stereotypes about women in leadership.

To stay successful, Moore needed strong roles, but unfortunately, her character Cami wasn’t one of them. Cami fell into tired, negative stereotypes about women in power. Instead of giving Cami a chance to grow, the show’s second season suggested she lacked the insight of the male characters, repeatedly implying she was incompetent and inflexible—and not nearly as insightful as her husband had been. This type of portrayal is something Hollywood is actively trying to avoid.

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Demi Moore’s character in The Substance is seemingly flawless, embodying a common struggle for women in Hollywood: being dismissed because of their age. The film illustrates how this kind of mistreatment can drive people to extreme measures. Moore shared in her Golden Globes acceptance speech that she experienced behind-the-scenes bullying, recalling a producer damaging her self-esteem by unfairly dismissing her as a lightweight actress. She ultimately proved him—and others who think similarly—wrong. Unfortunately, her role in Landman seems to be revisiting that difficult place. Hopefully, things will improve in the show’s third season.



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2026-01-22 00:37