There are lines in “Landman” that make you forget about “Yellowstone.”

Uber producer Taylor Sheridan focused his attention on the West Texas oil industry and has created a “Dallas” that tells more than JR Ewing ever could.

It’s down and dirty, may explain why world leaders are skeptical of things like green energy. It’s also quite funny – and just the place for someone like Billy Bob Thornton.

The Oscar winner plays Tommy Norris, a troubleshooter for an oil baron. He’s a “divorced alcoholic $500,000 in debt” who has two teenage kids, a clingy ex (Ali Larter) and more trouble in the field than half the characters in “Giant.”

When drug cartels come knocking, he is the one standing at the door. When a pumper blows, he takes care of the fallout.

When a finger is injured during a fire, Norris does not go for surgery, he cuts off the tip rather than endure a series of doctor visits.

He’s tough – and so is the series. It shows the life of luxury enjoyed by Monty Miller (Jon Hamm) and his wife Cami (Demi Moore). But it also falls on the workers who help finance these toys. It’s a world of haves and have-nots.

When that ex—Angela—returns to check on her daughter (Michelle Randolph) and son (Jacob Lofland), it’s not hard to see where their ruthless ways were nurtured.

Larter gets a handful of her own great lines throughout the series (“No woman who can do the splits can be trusted,” she claims) and isn’t afraid to turn on the charm to achieve her goals.

The Norrises’ daughter is cut from similar cloth (“she hasn’t heard ‘no’ since she was 8, dad says) and isn’t afraid to reveal lots of skin. She and mom have fun at a country club and get lots of attention from every man they meet.

However, son Cooper wants to fit in with the others on his shift. He meets resistance immediately and tries to make nice with co-workers who have no intention of becoming friends. Lofland has a heartbreaking way of starting a conversation and may be the only family member with a true strain of compassion.

However, “Landman” is not only interested in a family. It holds several and isn’t afraid to show just how wild this version of the West really is. A drive-up coffee shop is run by women who know what sells. Unlike some of the buttoned-down corporate types Norris later encounters, these are smart women with proven meet-and-greet skills.

Sheridan gets into a lot about the divide our country faces and never fails to entertain. Just when you think “Landman” is headed down a bumpy dirt road, it turns and gives you more insight into the men who work the rigs and the women who benefit.

Better than “Goliath,” “Landman” lets Thornton convey the emotions that color a “cigarettes and Dr Pepper” type of guy. The role fits better than a well-worn pair of jeans and never lets him down, just like his trusty boots. .

He is one of the best actors of the season in a series that could be one of the best this year or any year.

“Landman” airs on Paramount+.

Bruce Miller is editor of the Sioux City Journal.