Landman Fans Have a Rugged Six-Episode Netflix Western to Binge — Where a Billion-Dollar Cattle Dynasty Is Torn Apart by Death, Rivalry and a Brutal Fight for Control

Landman fans looking for another sprawling battle over family, money and power don’t have to stay in West Texas.

Netflix’s six-episode Australian neo-Western Territory takes many of those familiar ingredients and drops them into the remote Northern Territory, where a cattle empire worth billions is suddenly left without a clear successor. Netflix itself describes the drama as a fight for power at the world’s largest cattle station, with rival factions circling once the Lawson dynasty appears vulnerable.

At the center of it all is Marianne Station, the Lawson family’s enormous cattle property.

The family’s expected heir, Daniel Lawson, is dead. Patriarch Colin Lawson must now confront a question with consequences far beyond his own household: who gets control of everything the family has built?

The uncertainty quickly attracts rival cattle barons, gangsters, mining interests and Indigenous elders, while the Lawsons’ own relationships begin fracturing from within.

For viewers who enjoy the hard-edged family and business conflicts of Landman, it’s an easy six-episode detour into a very different kind of frontier.

From West Texas Oil to a Billion-Dollar Cattle Empire

Watch the trailer here.

Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace’s Landman places Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy Norris inside the high-pressure world of the West Texas oil business.

Territory shifts the economic battleground thousands of miles away.

Created by Timothy Lee and Ben Davies, the Australian series is built around Marianne Station, presented as the country’s largest cattle station and a billion-dollar empire. Netflix frames the series around a fierce succession struggle that erupts after the property is left without an apparent heir.

The person who had been expected to inherit it was Daniel Lawson, played by Jake Ryan.

Daniel’s death leaves family patriarch Colin Lawson, played by Robert Taylor, facing a succession crisis at the worst possible moment.

Without an obvious path forward, the family’s private dysfunction becomes an opportunity for everyone who wants a piece of Marianne.

And there are plenty of interested parties.

Daniel’s Death Changes Everything for the Lawsons

Colin is the formidable figure at the top of the family, but the next generation is far less straightforward.

His oldest son Graham Lawson, played by Michael Dorman, would appear to be an obvious candidate to move up. Yet the relationship between father and son is deeply troubled.

Graham is married to Emily Lawson, played by Anna Torv, who comes from a rival cattle family. She has spent decades within the Lawson clan, but that history hasn’t erased every suspicion surrounding her.

Netflix’s own breakdown of the succession struggle places Graham, Emily, their son Marshall and their daughter Susie among the figures potentially positioned to inherit power after Daniel’s death.

Marshall, played by Sam Corlett, has meanwhile distanced himself from the family and disappeared from Marianne.

That leaves a dynasty with enormous wealth, vast land and tremendous influence — but no uncomplicated answer to the most important question it faces.

Who comes next?

Marianne Station’s Rivals Can Smell Weakness

The Lawsons don’t have the luxury of resolving their problems privately.

Once their succession crisis becomes apparent, outside forces begin closing in.

Netflix describes rival cattle barons, desert gangsters, Indigenous elders and billionaire miners as among the powerful groups looking to exploit the family’s vulnerability.

Emily finds herself trying to prevent the family’s position from collapsing while navigating tensions that already existed long before Daniel died.

Marshall’s return doesn’t magically restore stability either.

Instead, the struggle over Marianne exposes old grievances and competing ambitions, turning the question of inheritance into something much larger than deciding whose name belongs at the top of the family business.

Control of the station means land, money and influence.

And with billions at stake, weakness is dangerous.

That’s where Territory shares some of its strongest thematic similarities with modern American neo-Westerns: business and family aren’t separate worlds. One constantly threatens to destroy the other.

Anna Torv Leads an Ensemble Built Around the Lawson Family

The succession story gives Territory a sizeable ensemble rather than relying on a single central hero.

Anna Torv plays Emily Lawson, with Michael Dorman as Graham, Robert Taylor as Colin and Sam Corlett as Marshall.

The wider cast includes Sara Wiseman as Sandra Kirby, Dan Wyllie as Hank Hodge, Clarence Ryan as Nolan Brannock, Jay Ryan as Campbell Miller, Philippa Northeast as Susie Lawson, Joe Klocek as Lachie Kirby and Kylah Day as Sharnie Kennedy.

Jake Ryan plays Daniel Lawson, whose death sets the central power struggle in motion.

That structure allows the drama to move between different sides of the conflict rather than treating Marianne Station as simply one family’s isolated problem.

Everyone has a relationship to the land.

Not everyone wants the same future for it.

The Australian Outback Gives Territory Its Own Identity

The comparisons with Sheridan-style television are easy to understand, but Territory has something that immediately separates it visually: its setting.

The series was filmed across Australia’s Northern Territory and South Australia, including locations rarely seen in major television dramas.

Production took place at Tipperary Station, a genuine working cattle station large enough to have its own airfield and school. Filming also took place in Kakadu National Park with permission from Traditional Owners.

That scale matters.

Marianne Station isn’t simply a large house surrounded by some picturesque countryside. The vastness and isolation of the landscape help explain why control of the property carries such weight.

Creator Ben Davies said the idea emerged while discussing the possibility of making a large-scale, high-stakes action drama on a cattle station in a part of Australia audiences don’t often see on screen.

Instead of West Texas highways and oil infrastructure, viewers get cattle musters, enormous stretches of remote land and a setting where distance itself can become part of the danger.

Wolf Creek Director Greg McLean Took Charge of All Six Episodes

The show’s Western atmosphere also comes with a filmmaker familiar with dangerous Australian landscapes.

Greg McLean, whose credits include Wolf Creek, directed the six-part drama. The series was written by Timothy Lee, Kodie Bedford, Steven McGregor and Michaeley O’Brien, with Lee and Ben Davies serving as creators.

Netflix categorizes Territory as a six-episode drama, meaning the entire story can be watched without the commitment required by many multi-season family sagas.

The individual episodes continue to widen the initial succession dispute. Graham attempts to take greater control, Emily searches for Marshall, new questions emerge around Daniel’s death, and rival interests make their own moves against the family.

The result is a compact story that still has room for shifting alliances, family betrayals and the larger fight over Marianne.

Territory Made a Strong Start on Netflix

The series also found a substantial audience immediately after its October 24, 2024 debut.

Netflix reported that Territory generated 6.4 million views during its first four days of availability, placing it at No. 3 on the English TV list for the week of October 21.

Critical and audience reactions were noticeably more divided.

Rotten Tomatoes currently lists the series at 87% on the Tomatometer from 15 critic reviews, compared with