Billy Bob Thornton has become one of television’s most entertaining leading men thanks to Taylor Sheridan‘s Landman, where his perpetually exhausted Tommy Norris somehow manages to survive the Texas oil industry, his complicated family, and an almost endless supply of terrible decisions. The Paramount+ drama has been a major success, but fans hoping to see Thornton back in action before the end of 2026 are facing a longer wait than expected. Season 3 is still in production, with no premiere date announced, leaving a rather noticeable gap in the schedule. Fortunately, Thornton has another television project arriving this month, although it’s a pretty significant departure from his usual surroundings.
Thornton is officially partnering with Fox Nation for a new three-part historical docudrama titled Billy Bob Thornton Presents: The Mayflower, which premieres November 23, 2026. The show will see the acclaimed actor host an exploration of the Mayflower’s voyage across the Atlantic, the First Thanksgiving, and the complicated events that helped shape the earliest foundations of the United States.
The series will follow the Pilgrims’ dangerous journey to North America, the fragile relationship established between the English settlers and the Wampanoag people, and the devastating conflicts that followed. Fox Nation president Lauren Petterson praised Thornton’s involvement, saying:
Billy Bob Thornton is a captivating storyteller with a unique ability to bring history to life. The Mayflower offers a fresh and thought-provoking perspective on one of the most familiar chapters in American history, giving viewers a richer understanding of the people, conflicts and events that shaped our nation’s beginnings.
Collider Exclusive · Taylor Sheridan Universe Quiz Which Taylor Sheridan Show Do You Belong In? Yellowstone · Landman · Tulsa King · Mayor of Kingstown
Four worlds. All of them brutal, complicated, and built on power, loyalty, and the price of survival. Taylor Sheridan doesn’t write heroes — he writes people who do what they have to do and live with the cost. Ten questions will reveal which one of his worlds you were made for.
🤠Yellowstone
🛢️Landman
👑Tulsa King
⚖️Mayor of Kingstown
01
Where does your power come from? In Sheridan’s world, everyone has leverage. The question is what kind.
02
Who do you put first, no matter what? Loyalty in Sheridan’s universe is always absolute — and always costly.
03
Someone crosses a line. How do you respond? Every Sheridan protagonist has a line. What matters is what happens after it’s crossed.
04
Where do you feel most in your element? Sheridan’s worlds are as much about place as they are about people.
05
How do you feel about operating in the grey? Nobody in a Sheridan show has clean hands. The question is how they carry the dirt.
06
What are you actually fighting to hold onto? Every Sheridan character is fighting a war. The real question is what they’re defending.
07
How do you lead? Authority in Sheridan’s world is never given — it’s established, maintained, and constantly tested.
08
Someone new arrives and tries to change how things work. Your reaction? Every Sheridan show has an outsider disrupting an established order. Sometimes that outsider is you.
09
What has your position cost you? Nobody gets to where these characters are without paying for it. The bill is always personal.
10
When it’s over, what do you want people to say? Sheridan’s characters all know the ending is coming. The question is what they leave behind.
Sheridan Has Spoken You Belong In…
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
🤠 Yellowstone
🛢️ Landman
👑 Tulsa King
⚖️ Mayor of Kingstown
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
When Will Billy Bob Thornton Return for ‘Landman’ Season 3?
Meanwhile, filming on Landman Season 3 officially began in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 1, with Thornton returning as Tommy Norris alongside Demi Moore (The Substance) as Cami Miller, Andy Garcia (The Godfather Part III) as Gallino, Sam Elliott (1883) as T.L. Norris, Ali Larter (Final Destination) as Angela Norris, and Jacob Lofland (Mud) as Cooper Norris. The upcoming season will also introduce Michael Kelly (House of Cards) as William Crockett, the head of the world’s largest oil-management firm.
Both seasons of Landman are streaming on Paramount+. Billy Bob Thornton Presents: The Mayflower premieres November 23, 2026, exclusively on Fox Nation. Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest news and updates on the biggest and best movies and shows heading to your favorite streaming platforms soon.
