Sheridan's Provocative Vision

Sheridan described telling Demi Moore she would be an extra for seven episodes in Landman Season 1, knowing critics would come after him, and that the eventual pivot—making her central in Season 2—would fuel controversy. He recounts the line, “Look, here's the thing. You're gonna be an extra in this show... then I'm going to kill your husband, and you're going to have to run the oil company.”

Sheridan argues that the industry used to operate without endless rewrites or constant tone meetings, contrasting that with today’s system in which he says studio and network executives are largely marketing-focused. He also invokes a bygone era when writers were “turned loose” (citing Steve McQueen at Paramount and Bobby Evans) as a contrast to current practices.

He criticizes superhero films for relying on characters delivering “information dumps that you have to follow to get to the action” rather than advancing the plot through action itself.

Sheridan contends that many executives are not storytellers—he calls them marketing executives who ended up in development roles, sometimes via circuitous routes from law careers or mailrooms—leading to a culture where there are ‘endless rewrites’ and constant pressure over tone and mood.