Landman is finally in production on season 3 — and viewers should expect some changes after the show was delayed.
Paulina Chávez spoke exclusively to Us about the experience of coming back to film, saying, “I was patiently waiting and just getting ready and wanting to be up here in Fort Worth already just to get back to work. We all did. It’s so crazy because we started production in September and last year we wrapped in August.”
Chávez, 24, who was promoting her partnership with the National Pork Board, described returning so much later than usual “a little weird.” She noted that she would have loved “to come back soon,” adding, “But now we’re here. … It’s like we never left.”
The actress, who plays Ariana, admitted she didn’t know much about the season despite currently filming it.
“There’s such a fun opening to the season, and I think fans are gonna love it,” she teased to Us. “[But] I know nothing. I am going into it blind — just like the audience will. It’s exciting to receive a script, and we’re definitely feeling it just the way the audience will when they first watch.”
Chávez continued: “It’s exciting to not know in the sense of I don’t get to be stuck in my ways. I don’t get to overanalyze. Having a few seasons under my belt, I know the character very well, and she really does live in me. So, she’s very easy to just come out. It’s just about allowing her to take up the space and just be who she is.”
Emerson Miller/Paramount+
While teasing season 3, Chávez hinted at something different for Ariana this time around.
“Now she’s not in the depths of the grieving process, and so we’re moving off of that,” she shared. “Now we are seeing who she really is after grief. Grief never goes away, but who is she now? Very different from the person that she was before grief, but we didn’t know who she was before grief. So, we’re getting to see those sparks.”
Based on the “Boomtown” podcast, Landman joined the Taylor Sheridan universe alongside Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lawmen: Bass Reeves and Lioness. The Paramount+ series introduced Billy Bob Thornton as a corporate fixer working for an oil titan in a West Texas-set drama with life-and-death stakes.
The series left fans on the edge of their seats when season 2 concluded with Tommy (Thornton) dealing with the aftermath of being fired by Cami (Demi Moore) by creating his own oil company. He got all of his former coworkers — and family — on board by hiring them all after he received an investment from Gallino (Andy Garcia).
“Ariana is going to be office manager, so she’s going to be part of that family business. She’s going to be very much involved, and I think that’s something so exciting for Ariana to also have her own thing but also building it with her partner,” Chávez told Us. “But right now, I can say that Cooper and Ariana are in a great place. I’m excited to see what other bumps in the road there’s going to be this season because there always are.”
She concluded: “Relationships are not easy, and they’re always going to be navigating that one way, shape or form. Obviously, the oil industry is something that still has fear for Ariana, and so obviously Cooper is going to be on call, and those moments are going to be a little frightening for her. How are they going to navigate through that?”
While filming season 3 of Landman, Chávez is also keeping busy with the National Pork Board, which is inviting Latino families across the U.S. to share the recipes and memories that have been passed down through generations.
Select submissions will inspire a limited-edition recipe collection.
“Food is so important to us, and it leads to so many beautiful memories with our families,” Chávez told Us. “This is like the perfect way for us to ground ourselves and go back into our roots and just connect with our ancestry. … Now that everything’s cooling down over here in Texas — cooling down to the 80s — it’s been very comforting.”
She concluded: “Now we did the call to action to invite people to share their recipes and their stories, so we’re gonna have some videos of us cooking some of those recipes and telling their stories, and I’m just so excited about it.”
Landman is currently streaming on Paramount+.