FORT WORTH, Texas — “Landman” actors Jacob Lofland and Paulina Chávez are looking forward to their characters’ evolving relationship in Season 2.

Lofland plays Cooper, the son of Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton), who loses his entire roughnecking crew in the first season. That’s where Chávez’s Ariana came into the mix, as the wife of one of the departed.

After getting together over the course of the season, the duo are excited for folks to see where their characters go this year.

“I feel like they’re learning the ropes,” Chávez said. “With any relationship comes a lot of ups and downs, lots of conversations to be had.”

Ahead of the Sunday, Nov. 16 premiere, Lofland and Chávez spoke to the Star-Telegram about what’s in store for their characters and the experience of filming in Fort Worth.

The conversation came after Chávez and a few of her “Landman” cohorts stopped by Fort Worth earlier this month for a red carpet premiere at the Modern Art Museum.

[This interview has been edited for clarity and length.]

Q: Let’s talk about Season 1 for a minute. You guys make this show, you hope it resonates with people, and it became such a phenomenon last year. What do y’all make of that?

Jacob Lofland: Still hard to believe. We knew it was gonna be absolutely amazing, just from the amazing cast and the fact that Taylor Sheridan wrote it. Can’t go wrong. But I don’t think any of us knew how big it was gonna be. It’s still shocking to us. We’re incredibly grateful.

Paulina Chávez: Just pinching myself, it’s surreal. Ah, that’s it. Just, wow.

Lofland: We don’t have enough words to explain it [laughs].

Q: The first season was about your characters healing and surviving. Going into Season 2, how does the relationship dynamic change between these two?

Chávez: I feel like they’re learning the ropes. With any relationship comes a lot of ups and downs, lots of conversations to be had. For Ariana, there’s a level of fear, because even though she was married, this relationship’s completely different than she’s ever experienced before. There’s definitely a level of fear in something that she needs to overcome. Wanting to find herself within motherhood. Being in a relationship she wants to find herself. And be okay with herself first and foremost.

Lofland: I think for Cooper, he really has no idea what the basis is to go off of. He’s never been in this serious of a relationship before, especially with the things, and a child. Everything that Ariana’s got going, it’s a lot for him. But at the same time, his home life hasn’t been amazing in the last little while. They’re starting to work on it now, you know? I think coming into it, he’s kind of flying blind. Like she said, it’s learning the ropes, and figuring out where the give and take is. And how to keep everything moving.

Q: At the end of Season 1, Cooper is seen going into the oil business for himself. Now in Season 2, his father Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton) is president of M-TEX Oil. How does Cooper’s relationship change with Tommy this time around?

Lofland: I honestly think it’s probably stronger than it was then. I think they’re building more and more of a relationship, and there’s gonna be ups and downs, of course. Not always agreeing on things, and some things, you’re gonna stand up for each other and help back up. I think the relationship is flourishing, to be honest. Going to be a great thing, I hope.

Q: For you, Paulina, Ariana lost her husband to this work. Now to see Cooper go out and return to this kind of work, what does she make of it?

Chávez: She definitely has a new set of eyes for the oil industry. She realizes how much of a high risk it is to work in it, and her fear is, what if he doesn’t come home? I think that’s something that she has taken account. There’s something so beautiful of her not wanting him to stop doing what he wants to do, what his dream is. But it’s a reevaluation of, I don’t know, what’s happening.

Q: You guys make this show in Fort Worth and have now spent the last two years here. Paulina, we talked a little bit about Fort Worth last week at the premiere. For you, Jacob, what’s that experience like?

Lofland: Oh, man, I absolutely love Fort Worth. It’s my second home at this point and will always be. I fell in love with Fort Worth almost 10 years ago when I was there shooting “12 Mighty Orphans.” I’m so glad we got to come back. I’m so happy for the film industry in Fort Worth, and how much it’s blowing up and booming. It’s a beautiful town, and it deserves to be shown. It really does.

Q: Beyond Fort Worth, the show also films in these smalls towns around the area. Ariana’s house is located in Benbrook. Jacob, you and Billy Bob filmed in Springtown. Do either of y’all have any special memories of filming in these small towns?

Lofland: Oh, man, I mean, I come from small towns. Like, I come from a town of probably a population less than 500 in Arkansas, so I’m incredibly used to that. That’s my home. I mean, I feel so at home driving between Fort Worth and Weatherford, or going to Mineral Wells. It feels at home, I mean, it really does. The people are absolutely amazing. Southern hospitality is a real thing. I love being able to work in Texas.

Chávez: I agree.

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“Landman” Season 2 premieres Nov. 16 on Paramount+.

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