‘Landman’ Sued By Estate Of Late Broadcaster For Unlawfully Using Voice Recording In Season 1 Finale

If only Tommy Norris could get on the phone and handle this.

As Taylor Sheridan and Paramount put together Season 2 of Landman, it looks like they might be facing some legal repercussions stemming from a scene in Season 1. This past Monday, the estate of radio host Paul Harvey filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Paramount, claiming that Landman used audio from Harvey’s signature program, “The Rest of the Story” (which aired from 1976 to 2008), without the permission of Paulynne – founded by Harvey and his wife Lynne.

The particular moment of the show that’s sparked the lawsuit comes in beginning of Season 1’s Episode 10 (“The Crumbs of Hope) – which is the series’ season finale. The episode opened with a 90-second audio clip that included Paul Harvey’s intro to his “Rest of the Story” program. The lawsuit claims that the segment that begins with “Now the Rest of the Story” was intentionally utilized to “make it obvious to viewers that the recording used in the show was directly sourced from Mr. Harvey’s ‘The Rest of the Story’ broadcasts.”

You can actually view that very scene in the clip below:

Furthermore, the lawsuit states that the audio that was used “discusses that rising gas prices are more than just the result of market forces and the greed of oil companies,” and also helped viewers better understand how the prices are “deliberately manipulated by governments and certain corporations to advance broader agendas.” The estate of Paul Harvey is strongly suggesting that the audio that was played from the famous radio program was both taken out of content and thoroughly modified “to support the show’s pro-oil industry themes.”

Jaime Wolf, Paulynne’s lead attorney, said this in a statement regarding the nature of the lawsuit:

“In the world of audio licensing, 90 seconds is an eternity. Paramount not only grabbed a long, copyrighted audio clip without our client’s permission, but they also twisted the intent of Mr. Harvey’s words by editing his original broadcast.”

According to the lawsuit, lawyers representing Paulynne attempted to get in touch with Paramount earlier this year – in March – about the issue, and also tried to reach Paramount Global by phone, but that they never responded (kids call that “ghosting” nowadays). Lawyers were attempting to resolve the infringement without the filing of a lawsuit. Now, they are trying to obtain monetary relief for the estate claiming that Paramount took financial advantage of the recording without proper consent:

“Paulynne’s prior knowledge and consent is willful in nature, remains continuous and ongoing, and violates Paulynne’s copyrights in and to the recording. Defendant’s commercial exploitation of the ‘Gas Crisis’ Recording has resulted in a financial benefit to Defendant and the loss of substantial licensing income to Paulynne.”

The estate of Paul Harvey is asking that the audio excerpt from “Rest of the Story” is removed from the episode of Landman it currently exists in, and that Paramount sign a cease and desist that they won’t use any other sound bites from Paul Harvey’s long-running radio show to help support the theming of the drama series. Paulynne is also seeking financial compensation for the “advantage gained by Paramount through its infringement.”

Season 2 of Landman is in production right now, and set to premiere this coming November.

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