NEW YORK, May 13 (UPI) — Christian Wallace says it has been an “incredible journey” hosting the Boomtown podcast, then co-creating Landman, a Paramount+ drama series based on the show, with Yellowstone titan Taylor Sheridan.
Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph, Jacob Lofland, Jon Hamm and Demi Moore, Landman is about the people who work in and around an independent Texas oil company.
Season 1 was released on DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday. Production is now underway on Season 2.
“There’s definitely some surreal moments when you have Billy Bob Thornton speaking lines of dialogue that came directly from your uncle, for instance,” Wallace told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
“Talk about moments you never really expected,” he said. “I’m just really grateful that a podcast about West Texas and oil and gas found an audience early on and the fact that Boomtown became a success and really resonated with people was just so rewarding to me as a person who’s from out there and spent a lot of time and a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into that.”
With both the podcast and the TV show, Wallace said he felt a tremendous responsibility to his family, friends and people he grew up with to accurately portray the risks and rewards of the dangerous business of producing a product for which there is a never-ending demand.
“We aim for authenticity in everything we did, but not everything can be precise, right?” he said.
“We’re not making a documentary. So, I always felt beholden to them to do my absolute best, to make it so that when they watch that, they see themselves and truth about that place. So, that’s who I was trying to make the show for.”
Wallace said it was essential that all of his characters be multi-dimensional and imbued with humanity because “at the heart of this oil drama is a family drama.”
“They all bring something so unique and special to the table,” Wallace said about his cast.
“I think when people think about oil and gas, what they tend to think about is ‘Big Oil,’ which is the companies and the suits and the massive industry, which is this amorphous, complex thing. What this show does is it brings it down to the humans, the people, the men and women who actually engage with the elemental substance of crude oil.”
Wallace’s intention is not to preach to anyone about a controversial topic, he emphasized.
“It’s first and foremost entertainment, but by delving into this specific industry in these topics, it does enlighten you. It does provide nuance that I think is often missing from a lot of the media that’s out there about this industry,” he added.
Wallace knew his story would be treated with respect given Sheridan’s great track record for creating smart, fun shows such as Yellowstone and its prequels 1883 and 1923, as well as Mayor of Kingstown, Lioness and Tulsa King.
“Taylor was the perfect person, the only person I really felt comfortable doing this with,” Wallace said. “He was the driving force. He was absolutely the right person. I knew I was in good hands.”
Sheridan is known for being a prolific and talented filmmaker who doesn’t frequently sit for interviews, making him a bit of a mystery to the media.
When asked what the guy is really like, Wallace replied: “He is a busy man because he runs the Four 6666s [Ranch]. He is the creative force behind all these different series. He’s a family man. He just has a ton going on. But when he focuses in on something, it’s just incredible.”
Wallace said an average day might find Sheridan attending a productive script meeting, then talking to a veterinarian about one of his horses, then attending a ribbon-cutting event.
“I don’t understand how he finds the energy for it all,” Wallace added.
