Landman builds on the gritty, neo-Western themes of Yellowstone and its offshoots. Sheridan produced two series that serve as prequels to the story of John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) family in Paradise Valley, Montana. 1883 and 1923 tell the stories of early Dutton family members who lived and worked on the Dutton Ranch before John was born. Several actors play different characters throughout Sheridan’s series. For instance, Dawn Olivieri plays Claire Dutton in 1883 and Sarah Atwood in Yellowstone. Another actor has played repetitively sinister characters in the franchise, but Sheridan fully redeemed him in his Landman story.

James Jordan’s Yellowstone & 1883 Characters Are Both Hard To Like: Jordan Plays Steve Hendon In Yellowstone And Cookie In 1883

James Jordan is another actor who plays multiple characters in the Yellowstone franchise. In the flagship, Jordan plays a Montana Livestock Association agent, Steve Hendon. Agent Hendon is blatantly problematic, abusing his power on multiple occasions with fatal consequences.

In Yellowstone season 2, Steve draws his weapon on a teenager while arresting a local man for killing cattle. While the teenager is armed, Kayce (Luke Grimes) is trying to deescalate the situation when Hendon shoots and kills the kid. Then, in season 3, Hendon kills two horse thieves in a civilian’s horse trailer when tasked with roughing them up.

Cookie is a brazen 1883 character, even by the prequel’s standards, and he makes a mistake that gets James’ daughter, Elsa (Isabel May), killed. After James makes a plan to keep the party safe from Lakota warriors, the cook changes course, and Elsa gets attacked as a result.

Dale In Landman Redeems James Jordan’s Yellowstone & 1883 Characters: James Jordan Plays Dale In Landman

Dale has the same personality traits and overall demeanor as his Yellowstone counterparts. However, Jordan’s Landman character is more lovable and genuinely good. Dale respects Tommy’s daughter, Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), and wife, Angela (Ali Larter), when they move in, despite Angela constantly picking on Dale’s food choices. When things hit the fan with Tommy’s family, Dale politely discusses the matter with his longtime friend rather than adding to the melodrama. He is overall amiable, which is a complete change in pace from his Yellowstone characters, whom you want to like at first but ultimately cannot.

The 1 Quality Taylor Sheridan Needed To Change About Dale To Fully Redeem Jordan: Jordan’s Landman Character Isn’t Fatally Reckless

Still, Jordan maintains a glimmer of recklessness in Landman, which gives Dale the same gritty and chaotic energy as his Yellowstone characters. In Landman episode 1, “Landman,” Tommy chides Dale for heating a can of beans in the microwave. The landman remarks that his roommate burns up a microwave a week and encourages Dale to pour his beans (which are his breakfast) into a bowl, but the engineer claims they taste different out of the can. Still, despite his roommate antics, Dale is a far cry from Jordan’s Yellowstone characters, who were impossible to root for.