Jon Hamm Explains ‘Landman’s Final Fate,’ Demi Moore’s Season 2 Role

(This story contains major spoilers from the season finale Farmer.)

After watching the season finale of FarmerJon Hamm’s fate was not certain.

Not until Christian Wallace, who helped create the hit Paramount+ series with Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan, began giving interviews after the finale, where it was confirmed that Hamm’s oil tycoon, Monty Miller, was indeed dead, his heart too weak to survive another heart attack and third bypass surgery.

When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter of his confirmed fate on Tuesday, Hamm was grateful for a season-long role in the oil industry drama starring Billy Bob Thornton, which is based on Texas Monthly podcast Boomtown which Wallace hosted.

“I’m just so mystified by how amazing the show is. It really is a spectacular thing to be a part of,” it said Fargo and Morning show actor who with Farmernow adds another memorable character to its collection. “I’m glad you guys like it. I’m glad everyone’s on board.”

With Monty’s death, the stress of running his oil company M-Tex is now handed to his oldest friend, farmer Tommy Norris (played by Thornton), who after surviving a brutal attack by the cartel and making a deal with the devil (played by guest star Andy Garcia) to coexist in the oil patch with the cartel, Tommy ends the series by measuring a baby coyote in his front yard.

Thornton when he speaks to THR after the finale unpacked the symbolism of that scene and what it means for a potential second season, which seems likely given the ratings success and plans shared from the co-creators, as well as Thornton’s interest in the series’ longevity.

Below, Hamm now shares his take on “the lovely ambiguity” and “metaphorical resonance” of that ending, while also revealing his thoughts on how Monty’s absence will lift both Tommy and Monty’s widow Cami (played by Demi Moore) when the show likely returns.

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First, are you okay in the middle of the wildfires? (Note: Hamm lives in Los Angeles.)

Fortunately, we are doing well. The fires didn’t really get that far to the east of us, and the ones in the east didn’t get that far to the west of us. We’re sort of right in the middle, which is very lucky.

After watching Farmerdealing with the elements as well as constant fires, did playing this character of Monty give you any new perspective on what’s going on right now in LA?

Yes and no. It’s definitely specific, and it’s totally different to have something like (the wildfires that are happening now) because it’s so devastating, honestly. The way the fires occur in the show is a bit more specific and contained; this is a completely different thing. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for quite some time and I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s just a devastating kind of situation that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, and unfortunately, we’re here through it. I wish everyone good health. We have had so many people lose their homes that are close to us. Fortunately they didn’t lose their lives and all that can be replaced, but it’s going to take a long time to come back from it and it’s not going to be an easy road. It puts everything into perspective to a large extent.

What originally made you want to take on this role of Monty? And now that we know, was the one-season commitment part appealing?

Well, yes and no. Part of it is that my other commitments don’t really allow me to be a series regular on another show. I’m very glad they asked me to do this, but I’ll tell you exactly what it was – it was the ability to work with Taylor (Sheridan) and Billy Bob (Thornton). These are guys whose careers I’ve really paid attention to. They are just working at the top of their game. I knew the show was going to be good; I didn’t know it would really spark in the culture like it has, and that part of it is even better. It’s always fun to be part of the conversation when you’re in something that people really respond to. I have had that on a couple of occasions.

Your fate was left somewhat ambiguous in the finale, but your co-creator Christian Wallace has since confirmed that Monty has indeed passed. What was it like filming your final scenes in the hospital?

Those kinds of scenes are especially difficult because you’re basically on your way out, and it’s not fun. But honestly, to be with the caliber of actors that I was with — Demi (Moore) and Billy Bob and everyone involved — it was just really outstanding. You say, “This is a spectacular group of people,” and I just can’t imagine it being more exciting or fun. Obviously, the details of the job in that case are a little tricky since you have pipes and a lot of crap in you, but the rest of it is fun. Who gets to be present at their own death, you know? (Laughing)

I’m trying to think now if you’ve died in any previous roles.

You know, I don’t remember either. My sister texted me and she said, “I can’t believe I had to watch you die on screen.” And I was like, “Haven’t you seen that before?” And she said, “No!”

Monty’s death sets Billy Bob Thornton’s character Tommy up for big things in a potential season two. Thornton packed out for THR the symbolism of Tommy sizing up the coyote at the end of the finale – he said that Tommy is trying to figure out if he is the coyote or if the coyote is coming after him now, possibly staring death in the eye. What path do you envision Tommy taking when he takes over Monty’s job and runs M-Tex Oil?

That’s another one of the things that I think makes the show so truly wonderful on so many levels: There’s a lovely ambiguity to a lot of it, and there’s also a metaphorical resonance to it. The writing works on several levels. One of the things I really like about the relationship between Billy Bob’s character and my own is that we both started in the same place and the two paths diverged quite severely. It happens sometimes and it’s really hard to deal with. It’s a hard thing to see a friend that you know go another way. It is a challenge to navigate.

It will be Billy Bob’s thing (ahead) – heavy is the head that wears the crown, so to speak. It’s true, and I think his journey through not only his time on the show, but the rest of his life is: Be careful what you wish for. I think he’s definitely figured that out with his relationship with Angela (his reconciled ex-wife played by Ali Larter), and I think his relationship with his son (Cooper, played by Jacob Lofland) and daughter (Aynsley , played by Michelle Randolph) is really going to be a burden for him to handle as well.

We didn’t get to hear Monty give Tommy advice from his death bed. Instead, we got to hear it from Jerry Jones a now viral scenewhich I understand was unscripted and arose out of Taylor Sheridan’s relationship with the Dallas Cowboys owner. What was it like filming that scene?

It was a lot of work. It was a lot of work and it was fun. Jerry is a man who has led a good life as he told in the story there. I think that was the directive for him: Basically, tell your story and we’ll make it resonate, and that’s what happened. It was a very cool way to get that story out.

Tragically, Monty takes Jones’ advice from his hospital bed – to put family first – and never gets the chance to make changes in his life before he dies.

For sure. It’s always too little too late, right? Sometimes. So you go, geez, what if…? The saddest words are what could have been.

What would Monty’s advice have been for Tommy?

That’s a good question. Monty’s life is making money. I think the story that Jerry tells resonates with him. I think he probably would have given Tommy similar wisdom, but they probably had a version of this conversation over and over again. I think the reason Tommy works for Monty is because he probably didn’t follow that advice. For some reason he was unable to heed that advice. And it is also a tragedy. When you see someone being the agent of their own destruction and they can’t get out of their own way.

Was that the last scene you filmed with Billy Bob Thornton?

I don’t really remember the last scene I shot; that was back in february last year. But it was an interesting experience for me because my time on the show was so condensed because of schedules and stuff, so a lot of my stuff was on phone calls. I remember I didn’t even meet Billy Bob until three or four weeks into my recording schedule. Our time together was short, but it sure was fun.

Were there any exchanges between you, Billy Bob Thornton and Jerry Jones after that scene?

We had a nice chat afterwards. It was a long day, and Jerry Jones is probably not used to the schedule of a TV shoot, so he was probably quite impatient with our pace. But we got him in and out as fast as we could.

Some viewers have wondered why Demi Moore had a small role in season one; Monty’s death now sets her up for a bigger role, and Wallace has said that he and Sheridan have big plans for her ahead. How do you envision Cami (Moore) stepping up in Monty’s absence?

I think she probably has a lot of thoughts going through her head right now, and a lot of them have to do with how this life really hurt her family. You will certainly resent this sort of thing; you will hold a real grudge. I think that’s probably what’s going to happen to her, but I’m not the guy writing this. I think she’s probably pretty upset that her husband is gone and that her family is broken. From experience, it’s a hard thing to come back from. It’s not a fun thing to lose a parent or to lose someone close to you, so there’s going to be a lot of wreckage to clean up in season two.

Viewers will be sad not to see you in a likely season two, but Sheridan tends to keep his stars around. Are there other worlds in the Sheridan-verse you’d like to play in?

I really don’t have anything ready for that answer, but I love Taylor and working for him. It was a great experience. We really had a great group of people working on the show, and that extends to the crew and everyone else. Just a spectacular group of people and we put on a great show. People really like it. That’s pretty much all you can hope for in a world of things like this. You think, well, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal, yet you pinch yourself when you get the opportunity to do something like this.

Another of your beloved roles, and one that is very current, is your character on Apples The morning showwhose ending was also left ambiguous into the next season. Can you talk about your involvement in season four?

(Laughing) Probably not. First of all, because I don’t know. I don’t really know what the schedule is on it or what’s going on, other than, again, I had the best time I could imagine working on that show. It was really fun and spectacular and a great experience. Again, getting to work with people at that level — that cast is stacked with home runs — was just an amazing experience, and I’m looking forward to hopefully doing some more.

What are you working on next that you can talk about?

I have a show coming out in April on Apple called Your friends and neighborsand it was already picked up for a season two. So we’ll get that started over time. There will be plenty of Hamm on screen.

You’ve been playing some intense, timely and powerful guys lately. What excites you about the roles you’ve taken on?

I’ve been lucky enough to be in this business long enough where people know and can trust me what they want to write. I’m a versatile enough actor to get a wide variety of things and it’s been great. I’m glad it’s not just a repeat of (Mad Men‘s) Don Draper or whatever people see. I like the diversity I am able to portray. That’s the fun.

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Farmer season 1 is now streaming on Paramount+. Read Billy Bob Thornton’s final interview.