How Taylor Sheridan and a $1.5 Billion Bet Are Turning Texas Into Production’s Next Power Player

By the time oil money, college football players and camera cranes rolled onto the campus of Texas Christian University, the message was clear: Texas isn’t just playing backdrop anymore — it’s angling to become a production hub.

With season two of Landman, creator Taylor Sheridan once again planted his flag firmly in his home state, using TCU as both a narrative device and a real-world training ground. The series, produced for Paramount+, employed hundreds of students as extras — including football players and members of the university’s spirit squads — while opening the door for aspiring crew members to shadow professionals in sound, camera and wardrobe. Some were hired as production assistants.

For an industry workforce long conditioned to migrate to Los Angeles or New York, the shift is more than symbolic. It’s economic.

The $1.5 Billion Backdrop

Last year, Texas lawmakers infused $1.5 billion into the state’s film incentive program, setting the stage for what local advocates are calling a filmmaking renaissance. Under updated guidelines currently being finalized, the state will disburse $300 million every two years over the next decade to qualifying projects.

The math is already compelling. According to the Texas Office of Economic Development and Tourism, every $1 spent on incentives returns approximately $4.69 in economic impact. In the 2024–25 biennium alone, the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program paid out roughly $57 million to 43 projects — spanning commercials, films and television — which collectively spent an estimated $285 million in-state and accounted for around 11,700 jobs.

There’s also a built-in workforce mandate: at least 35 percent of paid cast and crew must be Texas residents. For line producers and UPMs weighing budget trade-offs, that requirement is less a hurdle than a signal — Texas is serious about building a sustainable labor base.

The phones are ringing accordingly. Studios including Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures have been in touch with Dallas-based nonprofit Media for Texas, alongside a stream of indie films and TV series scouting locations and crew.

Sheridan’s Home-State Advantage

Sheridan’s growing slate has become the most visible proof of concept. In addition to Landman, his espionage drama Lioness — starring Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña — has shot in North Texas.

For TCU, the benefits extend beyond location fees (which the university declined to disclose). The school awarded Sheridan an honorary degree last year and even established a land management course inspired by themes in his shows — a rare example of intellectual property influencing curriculum.

There are, of course, reputational risks when a university turns its campus into a fictional playground for wealth, power and youthful chaos. Administrators are quick to note they don’t control storylines. But they do control the student experience — and increasingly, that experience includes proximity to professional-grade production.

For faculty members advising students who want to remain in Texas, the calculus has changed. Instead of chasing internships on the coasts, they can now accumulate set days at home.

Infrastructure Is Catching Up

The incentive surge is being met with tangible infrastructure. Dallas College recently opened a virtual production soundstage, designed to train students in LED volume workflows and emerging production technologies. Media for Texas is coordinating shadowing and job pipelines not just for students, but also for veterans looking to transition into below-the-line careers.

Producers filming outside Houston recently told local advocates they were so satisfied with their Texas experience that they intend to return for future projects — a key metric in any jurisdiction’s long-term strategy.

The broader ambition? To offer what boosters describe as a distinct creative voice — one rooted in the state’s geography, workforce and culture rather than serving as a generic stand-in for somewhere else.

The Third-Season Test

Landman is expected to return for a third season, which will serve as another stress test of the state’s growing ecosystem: crew depth, vendor capacity, stage space and post-production infrastructure.

For now, the optics are undeniable. When a flagship streaming series can turn a Fort Worth campus into a recurring character — while simultaneously functioning as a training lab and economic engine — the message travels quickly through agency offices and production company boardrooms.

Texas has always had the landscapes. Now, it has the legislative muscle, the early infrastructure and a marquee showrunner willing to build at scale.

For an industry recalibrating budgets and geography in equal measure, that combination is hard to ignore.