Tulsa King is an American crime drama television series created by Taylor Sheridan with Terence Wintershowrunning for Paramount+. The series stars Sylvester Stallone, marking his first leading role in a scripted television series. Stallone plays a Mafia capo who just got out of prison and is sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he begins to set up a criminal organization. It premiered on November 14, 2022. In November 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.[3]
Premise
Dwight "The General" Manfredi is a New YorkMafia capo who has just finished serving a 25-year prison sentence. Upon release, his boss sends him to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to establish criminal operations there. Not knowing anyone in the area, the General seeks a new crew to help establish his empire.
Cast
Main
Sylvester Stallone as Dwight "The General" Manfredi, a capo in the Invernizzi family who is given Tulsa after serving 25 years in prison for murder.
Andrea Savage as Stacy Beale, Manfredi's love interest and a senior ATF agent
Martin Starr as Lawrence "Bodhi" Geigerman, a weed dealer recruited by Manfredi to help finance his syndicate
Jay Will as Tyson Mitchell, a former taxi driver who becomes Dwight’s driver and the first member of the Manfredi syndicate.
Max Casella as Armand "Manny" Truisi, a former Invernizzi soldier who made a new life in Tulsa working at Fennario horse ranch, after breaking his vow to the family. He joins Manfredi's crew after unsuccessfully trying to kill him.
Dwight Manfredi is released from prison 25 years after committing a murder for New York's Invernizzi crime family. Despite staying quiet in order to protect boss Pete "The Rock" Invernizzi and his son, Don Charles "Chickie" Invernizzi, Dwight is told to go to Tulsa since the family doesn't have any prospects for him in New York. Dwight is furious and winds up punching out one of Chickie's men, Vince, in his anger. Arriving in Tulsa, he obtains a car and a hotel room to work out of and hires taxi driver Tyson as his associate. Upon learning that weed is legally sold at a local dispensary, Dwight offers "protection" to the owner, Lawrence "Bodhi" Geigerman. As Dwight continues making contacts in Tulsa and establishing his base of operations, the FBI learns of his presence and issues a bulletin to all federal agents in Tulsa. One of them is Stacy Beale, an ATF agent who recently slept with Dwight.
2
"Center of the Universe"
Allen Coulter
Terence Winter & Joseph Riccobene
November 20, 2022 (2022-11-20)
Tyson convinces Dwight to get a new drivers' license so he can obtain a debit card for expenses. He then visits Bodhi and insists on meeting with his supplier, Jimmy. After thoroughly educating himself on the intricacies of legalized marijuana, Dwight cuts a more favorable deal with Jimmy for better product. Tyson's father, Mark, grows concerned that his son is throwing away any chance he has of a future by associating with Dwight. Chickie agrees to a request from Vince that he be given a large cash gift from Dwight to squash their beef. Stacy visits Dwight to reveal who she works for; he insists that she has nothing to fear from him. A ranch hand, Armand, discovers Dwight's presence and begins planning to take action against him. Dwight uses his debit card to pay for information on his estranged daughter, Tina. He tries to call her, but she refuses to talk to him after he cut her out of his life 18 years earlier.
Stacy is assigned to investigate the Black Macadams, a local biker gang, after a member commits suicide with explosives in his house. During his driving test, a masked Armand tries to shoot Dwight; he survives, but the experience convinces him to end his relationship with Tyson. Tyson, who is infatuated with his new gangster lifestyle, rebuffs Dwight and insists on working as his right-hand man. Dwight brings Bodhi and Mitch in on a scheme to sell nitrous oxide as a party drug during an upcoming Tulsa music festival, convincing Mitch to use his bar as a front to obtain supplies of the gas without suspicion. Stacy reconnects with Dwight after they share dinner, and winds up sleeping with him again. Dwight conducts his own investigation, using various contacts to identify Armand as the shooter. He buys a gun, but while preparing to kill the man at his home, he hesitates after seeing Armand's young son run out to hug him.
4
"Visitation Place"
Ben Semanoff
Dave Flebotte
December 4, 2022 (2022-12-04)
Dwight waits until Armand is alone and then questions him. When Armand reveals that the Invernizzi family tried to have him killed during his prison sentence, Dwight spares him and instead demands a monthly cut of his income. Dwight's plan to sell the nitrous hits a setback when Black Macadam bikers, who are selling drugs at the same festival, beat up his crew and steal the gas tanks. To resolve the problem, Dwight and his men (accompanied by Mark) surprise the bikers as they are packing up for the night, rough them up with baseball bats, and take back the tanks and their stolen money. Tyson and his father reconcile, but Tyson finds himself torn between his family and his loyalty to Dwight. Armand assaults a rude neighbor and decides not to move out of Tulsa. Stacy has sex with a handsome stranger who buys her a drink. Dwight, with the help of his sister Joanne, says goodbye to his dying younger brother Joey.
5
"Token Joe"
Ben Semanoff
Joseph Riccobene
December 11, 2022 (2022-12-11)
Dwight flies to Brooklyn so he can attend Joey's funeral in person while also taking the opportunity to finally speak with Tina. Tina still refuses to forgive her father, and reveals that during his time in prison, she was raped by one of Chickie's men, Nico, despite Pete swearing to protect her when Dwight was convicted. An enraged Dwight beats Nico to death in front of Chickie and Vince. Caolan Waltrip, Black Macadam's sergeant-at-arms, has dirty state cops on his payroll arrest Tyson and confiscate his phone. After Tyson is coerced into unlocking it, the bikers learn about Dwight's connection to Bodhi and force him to reveal that Mitch is fronting his drug racket. When the cops attempt to intimidate Mitch, however, he compels them to release Bodhi and leave by explaining that since his bar is on Cherokee tribal land, they have no jurisdiction. Armand is warned by Roxy, his co-worker, to stop encroaching on Waltrip's turf.
Dwight meets with his daughter one more time before flying back to Tulsa. He finds that Tyson had been arrested and that Bodhi is missing. Waltrip meets with Dwight and demands a cut of his business, but Dwight refuses. Dwight is warned by Stacy about his activities and that the FBI are getting involved. The Invernizzi family, mainly Chickie, are split on how to handle Dwight. Pete insists on having his consigliere visit Tulsa to smooth things over, so Chickie instead beats up Tina's husband Emory. Federal agents shut down Bodhi's shop, but Bodhi himself refuses to betray Dwight. After learning that Pilot, the white horse he's grown fond of, will be put down, Dwight buys Pilot and hires ex-waitress Spencer to take care of him. Waltrip has Roxy's boyfriend Carson Pike shoot up Mitch's bar; Dwight and Mitch return fire and Pike is killed. Mitch then agrees to take on Dwight as a partner in his establishment.
7
"Warr Acres"
Guy Ferland
Terence Winter & Joseph Riccobene
December 25, 2022 (2022-12-25)
Dwight and Mitch send Pike's bullet hole-ridden jacket to the Black Macadams. In New York, Pete is getting better and back home with Chickie but the latter doesn't seem happy. Roxy calls Stacy about Pike and agrees to meet her to talk about the incident and is revealed to be an informant for the ATF. Pete gets angry when he hears Dwight gave his ring to Tyson and Tina is still getting mysterious calls. Roxy is captured by Waltrip who discovers her secret and strangles her. While bathing Pete, Chickie is brushed off by him once again and in a fit of rage drowns his father. He becomes the new boss of the family and Dwight is broken by the news.
With the increasing threat of the Black Macadams, Dwight and Mitch trained their inexperienced guys to shoot. Stacy pays visit to Waltrip, but she can't do anything to implicate him in the murder. Jimmy agrees to become a partner with Dwight and Mitch to start a casino. Chickie makes the decision to eliminate Dwight with his family and called him to pretend to make amends and says that they will visit him very soon. When Stacy meets Dwight again,Waltrip and one of his men start shooting and she is wounded. The police arrive and Dwight is detained for questioning.
9
"Happy Trails"
Lodge Kerrigan
Terence Winter
January 8, 2023 (2023-01-08)
In a flashback from 1997, Chickie, Vince and Armand are torturing Ripple, a member of their family. Armand calls Dwight in a panic and he finds Ripple chained to a radiator when he arrives. The house is lit on fire and Dwight will be arrested for saving Ripple from burning alive. In the present, Waltrip asks his men to eliminate Dwight and his crew definitely, and when one of them contests his orders, he shoots him. Chickie, Vince and Armand come to Tulsa to make their plan, but they are surprised by Dwight, and he threatens them to return to New York and never come "into his city without permission" again. Dwight asks Bodhi to hack into Waltrip's computer and empty his accounts. This move pushes the two groups in a fight when Dwight kills Waltrip in hand-to-hand combat. After three months the casino is open, Dwight reconciles with his daughter Tina and Stacy will be reinstated. At night Stacy meets Dwight outside the casino but uses a pen drive to accuse him of bribing a federal officer and the police take him to jail again with Tina in shock one more time.
Sheridan created the series during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking a week to come up with the idea, write the pilot, and recruit Stallone to the project.[15] Some filming occurred in Tulsa on March 29, 2022, at Tulsa International Airport.[16] Most interior filming occurred in Oklahoma City at Prairie Surf Media, which also hosted the production offices for the entire first season; most other exterior location filming also occurred there.[17][18]
On November 30, 2022, Paramount+ renewed the series for a second season.[19] In February 2023, Winter was announced to have stepped down as showrunner, due to creative differences, with search underway for a new showrunner.[20] At this time it was also reported that the second season would not film in Oklahoma due to financial costs and complaints from the cast and crew who did not like the extreme Oklahoma temperatures.[21]
Release
The series initially premiered along with the first episode of Yellowstone's season 5 in a special screening in AMC theaters, October 29–30, 2022, prior to their release on Paramount+.[22]
The series premiered on November 13, 2022, on Paramount+. The first two episodes of Tulsa King received special linear television airings on Paramount Network on November 20 and 27, serving as a lead-out for the fifth season of Yellowstone.[23][24][25]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 79% approval rating and an average rating of 6.6/10, based on 47 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Tulsa King's stale comedy sometimes feels like ordering spaghetti with marinara and instead getting egg noodles and ketchup, but Sylvester Stallone still commands the screen with his swaggering charm."[26] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[27]
James Delingpole, writing in The Spectator, wondered "how morally warped does an audience have to be to root for a character whose primary goal is to transform somewhere relatively sweet and innocent into yet another urban cesspit?" and wrote that "the worrying suspicion arises that our perceived nostalgia for Stallone is being asked to do all the heavy lifting here." He concluded that "writers Taylor Sheridan and Terence Winter could have exploited all this in a storyline that didn't leave such a nasty taste in the mouth."[28]
The premiere episode that aired on Paramount Network on November 20, 2022, had 3.7 million viewers, "making it the best new linear cable premiere of 2022".[19]
