'Landman' premiere draws more than 5 million viewers

Nov. 22 (UPI) -- More than five million viewers tuned in Sunday for the two-episode premiere of Landman, starring Billy Bob Thornton.

The show, inspired by the Boomtown podcast from Christian Wallace, follows the various characters behind a Texas oil boom "so big, it's reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics."

Paramount+ said in a press release Friday that the premiere delivered 5.2 million cross-platform same-day viewers, its biggest global series premiere since the Yellowstone prequel 1923 in 2022.

Landman joins 1923 and Tulsa King as the top three biggest season launches in Paramount+ history.

Taylor Sheridan, one of the creators responsible for both Yellowstone and Landman, designed the show's main character, Tommy, for Thornton.

"He said, 'I have your voice.' And he did. When I read the scripts, I could hear myself saying all this stuff," Thornton recently told UPI.

Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph, Jacob Lofland, Kayla Wallace, James Jordan, Mark Collie, Paulina Chávez and Demi Moore also star. Guest stars include Jon Hamm, Andy Garcia and Michael Peña.

New episodes of Landman premiere Sundays on Paramount+.