‘Bad Santa’ features Billy Bob Thornton playing Willie T. Stokes, who disguises himself as a department store Santa Claus every Christmas
Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy Norris may be one of television’s toughest oil executives, but the character, in fact, has roots in a very different role from the actor’s past. According to ‘Landman’ creator Taylor Sheridan, the first pitch for the hit Paramount+ drama was built around one unforgettable comparison, which was enough to convince Thornton. Sheridan recently appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast, where he shared how he first presented the series to the Oscar-winning actor. Rather than giving a long explanation about the oil industry or outlining every plot point, Sheridan summed up the entire concept in one colorful and amusing sentence. “I said, ‘I want to make a drama with Bad Santa running an oil company’,” Sheridan recalled. The reaction was exactly what he had hoped for. “He’s like, ‘That’s the greatest f*cking thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Yeah, let’s do it’,” Sheridan said during the interview.
It was an unusual pitch, but it worked like a charm. In the 2003 comedy ‘Bad Santa’, the actor played Willie T. Stokes. He’s a miserable, foul-mouthed alcoholic who disguises himself as a department store Santa Claus every Christmas. The costume isn’t meant to spread holiday cheer, though. Willie and his partner Marcus, played by Tony Cox, use the seasonal job as a cover while planning robberies. The movie became a cult favorite thanks to its outrageous humor and Thornton’s performance. More than a decade later, he returned as Willie for ‘Bad Santa 2’, which hit theaters in 2016. Sheridan clearly saw shades of that rough-around-the-edges personality when creating Tommy Norris.
In the Paramount+ drama, Thornton stars as Tommy Norris, a veteran crisis executive working in the high-pressure oil fields of West Texas. Tommy spends much of his time handling emergencies, corporate problems, family issues, and dangerous accidents. Meanwhile, Paramount+ officially renewed ‘Landman’ for its third season in December 2025, well before fans had even finished discussing the events of Season 2. After the Season 2 finale aired in January, many viewers expected production to move quickly enough for another season to arrive before the end of 2026. That timeline has now changed. Production was pushed back, with filming now expected to begin in August.
As a result, Season 3 is now expected to premiere sometime in 2027 instead of later this year. The delay may test fans’ patience a little, but behind the scenes, the show’s future appears to be in good shape. Recently, Deadline reported that nearly all of the original cast members secured major salary hikes ahead of Season 3. The pay raises apply across the original cast of Sheridan’s drama. Thornton, however, is the lone exception. According to the report, the actor already operates under a separate three-year contract that includes standard annual pay increases. Because of that existing agreement, he was not part of the latest round of renegotiations. If ‘Landman’ receives a fourth season, Thornton will be expected to negotiate a new contract.