How Landman's Michelle Randolph Will Change Her Approach To Ainsley Norris In Season 3

From the very beginning of "Landman," Michelle Randolph has been a champion for her character, Ainsley Norris. The daughter of Billy Bob Thornton's oil man Tommy Norris is one of the most energetic and deceptively layered characters on the show, and Randolph stood up for Ainsley after a backlash from "Landman" viewers who claimed she was too sexualized. Now, having firmly established the youngest Norris child as an integral part of the oil drama, it seems Randolph is excited for Ainsley to develop as she embarks on her college journey.

In season 2 of "Landman," we saw Ainsley arrive at Texas Christian University (TCU), where she joined the cheerleading team and was assigned a dorm room with a less-than-compatible roommate Paigyn Meester (Bobbi Salvör Menuez). That led to one of the more interesting Ainsley storylines, with the character suddenly losing her vivacity in the face of interpersonal conflict before demonstrating her caring side when she and Paigyn eventually bonded. As the show goes on, then, it looks as though creator and writer Taylor Sheridan will be exploring deeper aspects of characters like Ainsley, and Randolph is looking forward to it.

The actor told The Hollywood Reporter she's excited to "discover who [Ainsley] is" when she's around characters other than her family. That suggests season 3 will feature a lot more of her college experience, though at this point Paramount and Sheridan have yet to reveal much about the upcoming episodes. Either way, it will be interesting to see how Ainsley develops, especially since Sheridan seems to be taking note of the criticisms he's faced for his writing of female characters.

Michelle Randolph's acting career is just getting started. The "Landman" star's big break was in another Taylor Sheridan series, "1923," in which she played Elizabeth Strafford, fiancé of Darren Mann's Jack Dutton. She's been playing Ainsley Norris for two seasons, much of which has seen her living at home with her newly-reunited mother and father. With Ainsley becoming a college student in season 2, Randolph is excited to see how that development will allow her character to evolve.

During her interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor was asked how Ainsley's college experience might change her interactions with the other main characters. "We know who Ainsley is when she is around her family and comfortable," she replied. "So I'm looking forward to seeing and discovering who she is when she goes to college and she's around her peers and out of her comfort zone." Randolph pointed to examples from season 2 of Ainsley's interactions with her cheerleader teammates and her new roommate, Paigyn Meester. "What's cool about growing with a character is, especially on a TV show, you get to meet them at different points in their life," added Randolph. "I'm learning who Ainsley is as she's learning who she is. That makes me excited to get back."

The actor didn't reveal anything about season 3, which has yet to start shooting, but she reaffirmed her commitment to "Landman" and Sheridan's overall plan for the series. "I have so many ideas," she said. "I think we all do, but I really trust Taylor's vision for the story. This will be going into my fifth season of television with him, and I have learned to trust him and have no expectations for what I think should happen."

Across every Taylor Sheridan series, the prolific creator has taken a lot of heat for the way he writes women, prompting "Landman" star Ali Larter to address Sheridan's controversial writing on the show. The actor, who plays Tommy Norris' wife and Ainsley's mother, Angela, defended Sheridan for writing a role she was completely "comfortable" with, and in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, chastised viewers for being so "uncomfortable by their sexuality."

With season 2, you could sense that Sheridan himself was trying to address some of the criticism, too. Though we still got plenty of scantily-clad women strutting around unnecessarily, we also saw more depth in Ainsley's character via the aforementioned roommate storyline. But Sheridan isn't only using "Landman" to address viewers who are critical of his writing. His new series, "The Madison," will — according to star Kurt Russell — challenge Sheridan's biggest weakness by essentially being written with the female gaze in mind. Clearly, the negative assessment of his writing of women is making it through to the man himself, and it will be interesting to see how that affects both "The Madison" and Angela and Ainsley's stories on "Landman."

Whatever happens, it seems Randolph hasn't been put off by the criticism and would be delighted at the prospect of leading her own Ainsley Norris series. Asked by THR about speculation that her character could get a spin-off and whether she'd be open to it, the actor said, "Definitely, that sounds fun. I love playing her." With Sheridan clearly on somewhat of a "I can write women well" campaign, who knows? It just might happen.