A certain kind of frustration builds up when you see a really good actress spend most of the season lying on patio furniture while the men around her do all the challenging acting. That’s how a lot of people felt when they watched Demi Moore in Landman’s first season. She was there, but no one could really hear her. Critics took note. Some people were mean about it. It turned out that they only watched the beginning of the story.
Later this summer, filming for Landman’s third season will begin in Fort Worth. Moore has signed a new contract that sets her salary at $740,000 to $770,000 per episode, the same as the show’s lead actor, Billy Bob Thornton. The number itself is important for a show that has quietly become Paramount+‘s most-watched original. But the parity is what’s important.
Men and women who play leads in a major streaming drama don’t get paid the same by accident. Most of the time, it needs leverage, and performance is needed for leverage. Moore got both. Creator Taylor Sheridan is known for taking a long time with his characters. He recently said that the criticism about Moore’s lack of use was something he expected and, to some extent, enjoyed. He knew that the plan was to kill Monty Miller played by Jon Hamm and give Cami the oil empire. The patience that was needed to do that, from both Sheridan and Moore herself, is now showing in her pay.
Moore’s first contract was said to be shorter than usual—only two years instead of the usual three. That’s important to note. It either shows that the production was being cautious at first, or it was always set up so that it could be changed once the show got going. In any case, she’s stuck with new terms and a different amount of money than she had before.
Not only is she better off after these talks, but so are others. Ali Larter’s performance as Angela Norris was one of the most talked-about parts of Season 2. She was paid more than twice as much for each episode as she was before, more than $350,000 an episode. Larter also signed a talent deal in addition to her acting contract. This shows that Paramount and Sheridan’s team see her as more than just a series regular; they want to build a longer relationship with her. Younger cast members like Jacob Lofland and Michelle Randolph are now making between $130,000 and $180,000 per episode. The rest of the original cast is also getting big raises from their low starting salaries.
The timing is what makes all of this strange. Renegotiations in the middle of a show’s run, which used to happen all the time on popular TV shows, are very uncommon in today’s TV business. Networks and studios have mostly fought against it, preferring to hold firm until later in the life of a show. People who made Landman left after only two seasons, which shows how much attention the show is getting. In its first 48 hours, the Season 2 premiere was streamed 9.2 million times. In just two days, the finale got 14.8 million views, making it the most-watched original series finale in Paramount+ history. Those are numbers that give both sides of a negotiation more power.
Thornton is already under a three-year deal that guarantees him a raise every year. If the show gets picked up for a fourth season, he will likely renegotiate his terms. He and Moore are now at the same rate going into Season 3, which is a marker in and of itself. This wouldn’t have seemed likely when the show first started airing and Cami Miller was just there for looks.
There’s a bigger picture to this story that’s hard to miss. Many people said that an actress wasn’t used enough in Season 1, but in Season 2, she plays the main character, and by the time contracts are renegotiated before Season 3, she’s making the most money. The result is the same whether that was always the goal or just a lucky turn of events. The patience paid off. The numbers came next.
