Michael Kelly Joins ‘Landman’ Season 3 as Powerful New Oil Executive

Landman is adding another heavy hitter for Season 3, and this time Taylor Sheridan is bringing over a familiar face from another Paramount+ drama. Emmy-nominated actor Michael Kelly has joined the hit series as a new series regular, playing a character who sounds ready to shake up the already cutthroat West Texas oil business.

Kelly will play William Crockett, described as the leader of the largest oil management firm in the world. Paramount+ calls Crockett a “titan of industry,” with everything about him exuding efficiency and money. That description alone makes it clear that Landman isn't bringing Kelly aboard for a minor detour, especially with the actor officially joining the series-regular cast.

Exactly how Crockett fits into Tommy Norris' increasingly complicated world hasn't been revealed. Billy Bob Thornton returns as Tommy, while Season 3 also features Demi Moore, Andy Garcia, Ali Larter and Sam Elliott. Jacob Lofland, Michelle Randolph, Paulina Chávez, Kayla Wallace, Mark Collie, James Jordan and Colm Feore are also part of the ensemble.

Crockett's position at the top of a massive oil management firm could put him directly in the path of several of Landman's established power players. The series has always used the oil business to explore the people making fortunes at every level of the industry, from roughnecks working dangerous jobs in the field to billionaires making decisions far removed from the wells themselves. Adding someone with Crockett's reach gives Season 3 another potentially formidable figure at the very top.

The casting also keeps Kelly firmly inside Taylor Sheridan's television universe. He currently stars as Byron Westfield on Lioness, where he appears opposite Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. Kelly's television résumé also includes The Penguin, Jack Ryan, The Comey Rule and his four-time Emmy-nominated performance as Doug Stamper on House of Cards.

Created by Sheridan and Christian Wallace, Landman is set in the boomtowns of West Texas and follows the roughnecks, executives and billionaires fueling the modern oil industry. The series is produced by Paramount Television Studios, 101 Studios and Sheridan's Bosque Ranch Productions.

With Kelly now joining a cast already loaded with Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Andy Garcia and Sam Elliott, Season 3 appears to be expanding the corporate side of its oil empire even further. The biggest question now is whether William Crockett arrives as an ally, a rival or something much more complicated for Tommy Norris.