It is often the case that a showrunner or a creator might create similar shows with similar undertones in their Hollywood career. Taylor Sheridan, who is one of the peers in reviving the contemporary Western genre, has a knack for similar styles and storytelling in his movies and shows.
However, in a weird twist, Sheridan’s recently released show, Landman, shares similarities with another show from 2006, which was not written by Taylor Sheridan! Although the concepts and storylines of both shows are very different, the similarities outweigh the differences.
Taylor Sheridan might have been inspired by Friday Night Lights
The scope and the scale of both shows are very different. Taylor Sheridan’s Landman is about roughnecks and business tycoons trying to have a monopoly over the oil business in West Texas. Friday Night Lights, on the other hand, is about… football.
The thing that essentially unites the two shows is the land of West Texas. Friday Night Lights and Landman are both set in West Texas, and it feels like the land is a character on its own.
From the atmosphere to the color grading of both shows, there are often moments in Landman when one remembers Friday Night Lights and vice versa.
The two share such a similarity that it seems like Taylor Sheridan was heavily inspired by the 2006 show for Landman.
Although the creator has not confirmed his inspiration for the setting and the atmosphere for Landman, the signs do say that Sheridan might have just had a glimpse of the series and decided that this was the tone for Landman.
The similarities outweigh the differences
First off, although Friday Night Lights is about a football coach, the core themes of the show are set in West Texas, where politics, personal lives, and ambitions intertwine and create tension and chaos for the people involved in it.
Although Taylor Sheridan’s Landman can be considered a contemporary Western, there’s no denying that the show does share similarities with Friday Night Lights.
From the color grading to the living, breathing land of West Texas, that’s all Sheridan and his genius, but it has also been done in the 2006 show about Football. The sweeping shots over the lands of West Texas feel quite similar to the environment scenes in Friday Night Lights, and there’s no denying that.
Although the stories revolved around football and oil, respectively, the concepts of running an empire and having personal ambitions like no other resonate in both shows. Taylor Sheridan hasn’t confirmed that he was inspired by Friday Night Lights, but there’s no need. Both shows are beautiful in their similarities and yet, in unique ways.
Friday Night Lights, which aired from 2006 to 2011, currently stands at a rating of 8.7/10 on IMDb and a whopping 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Landman, on the other hand, stands at 8.2/10 on IMDb and 78% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Friday Night Lights and Landman are available to buy and stream on Apple TV and Paramount+, respectively (USA).
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
