Billy Bob Thornton is one of the great actors of our time and he's in the midst of, well, we don't want to call it a renaissance because that would imply he wasn't doing well. But right now, he's on top of the world thanks in no small part to Taylor Sheridan and his phenomenally successful Paramount+ series Landman. However, with delays pushing Sheridan's biggest new series into the abyss, Thornton has instead found a new project.
Thornton is officially partnering with Fox Nation for a new three-part historical docudrama titled Billy Bob Thornton Presents: The Mayflower, which premieres November 23, 2026. The series will see the Oscar winner host an exploration of the Mayflower's voyage across the Atlantic, the First Thanksgiving, and the complicated events that helped shape the earliest foundations of the United States.
The series will follow the Pilgrims' dangerous journey to North America, the fragile relationship established between the English settlers and the Wampanoag people, and the devastating conflicts that followed. Fox Nation president Lauren Petterson praised Thornton's involvement, saying:
Billy Bob Thornton is a captivating storyteller with a unique ability to bring history to life. The Mayflower offers a fresh and thought-provoking perspective on one of the most familiar chapters in American history, giving viewers a richer understanding of the people, conflicts and events that shaped our nation’s beginnings.
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you're complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world's indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you're willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family's weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what's yours, you don't escalate — you finish it. You're not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone's world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn't make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You're a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they'll do to get it. You're not naive enough to think this world is fair. You're smart enough to be the one deciding who it's fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you're not above reminding people that the two aren't mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they'd be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they're more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don't need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you're the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky's world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You've made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
Thornton is well used to taking part in historical productions at this point, with his best known one in that field being his portrayal of portrayed Davy Crockett in The Alamo, while his career has also included some of the most incredible work in projects like Fargo, Goliath, and Sling Blade, the latter earning him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
For The Mayflower, the production team consulted historians from Plimoth Patuxet Museums, where portions of the series were filmed, alongside Nathaniel Philbrick, author of Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. Philbrick welcomed the project, stating:
The voyage of the Mayflower set into motion what would become the United States. Kudos to Billy Bob Thornton for helping to bring this vital story from America’s past to life.
Thornton also serves as an executive producer alongside Geyer Kosinski, Tom Forman, David Metzler, Jordan Rosenblum, and showrunner John Ealer, with AIRtime Projects and Terminal B TV producing.
All three episodes of Billy Bob Thornton Presents: The Mayflower premiere on Fox Nation beginning November 23, 2026.
In the rugged terrain of West Texas, a team of landmen work to secure oil and gas leases, acting as intermediaries between landowners and energy corporations. The narrative centers on a driven landman whose ambitions in the energy sector lead him into complex negotiations and moral quandaries. The show explores the intense competition and the far-reaching consequences of the landmen's deals, highlighting the intersection of personal ambition and the broader effects on the community and the natural world.
