This Taylor Sheridan Show Should Have Finally Broken His Emmy Curse
by Joe Roberts · /FilmIt's a good thing Taylor Sheridan doesn't care about the Emmys because yet again the man has been snubbed by the Television Academy. The 2026 Emmy nominations have now been confirmed and despite a concerted effort to bring attention to Sheridan's oil drama "Landman," the Billy Bob Thornton-led series failed to secure a single nomination. At this point, it's getting a little silly.
It's not necessarily hard to see why Sheridan's shows have gone overlooked by the Emmys. The man himself is somewhat of a Hollywood renegade, having pivoted from acting after a nasty experience on "Sons of Anarchy" before turning his attention to writing and becoming nothing short of a creative powerhouse. "Yellowstone" remains his magnum opus, but Sheridan has expanded his TV empire with a raft of series, all of which have enjoyed massive viewing figures. Meanwhile, Sheridan hasn't minced words when it comes to critics, thereby bolstering his standing as somewhat of an outsider even while he surveys a vast TV kingdom any creative would kill for. Mix that with the perception of his shows as catering to a right-leaning audience and you've got the perfect recipe for how not to succeed at the Emmys.
Of course, popularity isn't enough to earn the respect of awards voters, but this is the big secret about Taylor Sheridan. Contrary to the popular view of the man, he doesn't just write soap operas and then shoot them in a premium drama style. He's just as adept at writing moving, intimate scenes as he is at penning off-the-wall absurdity. Unfortunately for him, his unorthodox mix of soapy melodrama and grounded naturalism — which arguably reached its pinnacle in "Landman" — just hasn't impressed Television Academy voters.
Landman is an excellent drama hidden beneath a soap opera veneer
"Landman" is a ridiculous series about a West Texas oil man who with every new morning is forced to live through the day from hell. It's an absurdly exaggerated examination of the stresses endured by middle-aged men (even though Billy Bob Thornton is 70 now) who are just trying to provide for a frequently ungrateful family and maintain a career. Throughout the course of two seasons, Thornton's landman Tommy Norris has managed to get himself kidnapped by the cartel (twice) and broker a deal with a drug lord to fund his own oil company while managing to keep his own son out of jail for murder and endure dinner parties hosted by his wife that frequently descend into histrionics. The whole thing is hilarious. But that's just one half of the show.
The other half is a consistently affecting drama that somehow manages to be more insightful and moving than most other shows on TV. Thornton's favorite "Landman" scene with his on-screen son Cooper Norris (Jacob Lofland), for instance, is incredibly touching, with Thornton admitting to shedding real tears during filming. The episode in question, "Sins of the Father," sees Tommy and Cooper share a car journey, wherein the former admits to failing his son by being distant throughout his childhood. Instead of indulging in more soap opera nonsense, Sheridan has Cooper look over at his father and say, "I love you dad. You did your best and your best is good enough for me." Cue the tears from Thornton, who alongside Lofland delivers every moment of this scene with an devastatingly understated poise. It's genuinely great and just one example of how this cast and Sheridan's writing deserves recognition from the Television Academy for their work.
Landman didn't deserve its Emmys snubbed
In April 2026, a report from The Hollywood Reporter noted how "Landman" had submitted Billy Bob Thornton in the Lead Actor category for the upcoming Emmys while the supporting cast were collectively submitted in the Supporting category. After its first season was snubbed by the Academy, Season 2 earned Actor Award, and Critics Choice Award nominations for Thornton, who'd also been nominated for a Golden Globe the year prior. It all suggested this might be the year a Taylor Sheridan show finally managed to break through at the Emmys. Alas, despite a significant campaign, the Television Academy failed to nominate the series for a single award, continuing a depressing trend.
Sheridan's shows have never earned anything more than nominations in technical categories. Amazingly, despite running for five seasons and earning solid to stellar reviews, "Yellowstone" only ever secured one Emmy nomination for production design. The prequel series "1883" and "1923" earned five nominations in technical categories collectively. Meanwhile "Tulsa King" and "Lioness" have been recognized with nominations for stunt coordination. But on the whole, the Academy has consistently overlooked Sheridan's work.
Not that the writer himself seems to care all that much. For Sheridan, entertainment was the only rule when it came to writing "Yellowstone," and that rule seems to have held for his post-"Yellowstone" shows, too. But that once again elides the point about his ability to craft strikingly poignant scenes that punctuate the melodrama. The aforementioned moment between Tommy and Cooper Norris is just one example of how "Landman" manages to strike an impressive balance. Scenes between Thornton and his on-screen father, Sam Elliott's T. L. Norris, pack just as much emotional weight. Yet it seems none of it was enough for Emmy voters.