Ali Larter has hit back at critics of her “Landman” character and defended the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan.

The former model, 49, plays Angela Norris, ex-wife of Billy Bob Thornton’s oil rig executive Tommy Norris. The show was devised by ”Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace. It is based on Wallace’s own podcast, “Boomtown”, about the Texas oil industry.

“Landman” returns for a second season November 16.

Since the series debuted last year, Larter’s character has been criticized as over-sexualized. However, the actor pushed back at those claims in an interview with People, saying: “Taylor is a provocateur.”

Larter continued: “He loves to write characters that make people respond, that initiate a reaction, a feeling. And I think that what’s incredible about our show, and a lot of the shows that Taylor makes, is that they’re all wildly original and authentic to themselves.”

Ali Larter at a screening of ‘Landman’ season 2 in Los Angeles on October 30, 2025 (Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

She went on to describer her character as a “fierce mama bear.”

“You’re watching this woman leave a life behind of luxury, leave a life of comfort behind, because she’s gotten to the age and to the point in her life where she wants to be with the person she loves,” Larter said. “And she wants to laugh. Being able to kind of create that arc and weave that into the first season was really interesting and fun to be able to do.”

The actor also applauded Sheridan for making the inner workings of the oil industry so appealing. “You would never know on paper that this show would be so riveting or so many people would love it, different generations of people who live in different places. That they find a connection to it, I think, is super fascinating.“

Taylor Sheridan is behind a string of hit shows including ‘Landman’, ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ (Getty)

When the first season aired, Thornton also defended Larter’s character and addressed criticisms of the show.

Speaking about Sheridan, Thornton told Deadline: “I mean, he’s such a powerful guy. It’s easy to knock him down. But he’s had the best reviews he’s ever had for ‘Landman’.

“Some of them mentioned the women and how Ali’s character may be a little cartoonish or whatever. And I got to tell you, I was raised down there in Arkansas and Texas, and women like Ali exist. It’s hard to look that good, but some of ’em do.

He continued: “I mean, there are women around that Dallas-Fort Worth area who look like models, and they’re just like elbows and eyebrows every minute.”

“Landman” is available to stream on Paramount+.