tulsa king movie review

Sylvester Stallone Stars in Paramount’s Charming Tulsa King

Dwight “The General” Manfredi ( Sylvester Stallone ) has spent the last 25 years in prison, taking the fall for his friends in the New York mafia. He ain’t no snitch; he’s good at keeping his mouth shut, working out, and brushing up on his reading (Faust, Shakespeare, The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene ) while he waits to reap the rewards for his loyalty. “I married this life, and I’m gonna see if it married me back,” Sly growls in reedy voiceover.

But his exit from the frying pan leads him right back into the fire: Rather than take his former place in the organization, the don’s son has taken his place as capo. They send him off to start criminal operations in a whole new frontier: Tulsa, Oklahoma. There’s gold in them thar hills, they might say (albeit with pinched fingers), but for Dwight, it feels like he’s being put out to pasture. Doesn’t matter, though; if there’s anything Dwight’s good at, it’s adapting. Well, that and breaking skulls.

There’s a lot to like about Taylor Sheridan ’s “Tulsa King”—clearly his next step in his plot to dominate the easy-chair demographic after his smash-hit Western drama “Yellowstone.” Most of it lies in its light, effervescent tone, with the wiseguy-in-a-strange-land appeal of something like “ Get Shorty ” (book, film, and TV show). When Dwight arrives in Tulsa, he steps out of the airport only to be immediately smacked in the face by a grasshopper “bigger than [his] cock.” No matter, with all his smooth-talking precision, it’s not long before his driver (Jay Will’s Tyson) becomes his erstwhile sidekick as he shakes down a local weed dispensary (run by Martin Starr ’s spaced-out Bodhi) to start his first protection and money laundering racket. By all indicators, Tulsa couldn’t have possibly seen him coming.

There are glimmers of threats to come in these first two episodes, to be sure, and there’ll come a time when Dwight can’t bluster or bludgeon his way through a situation. As a last-minute scene with Max Casella ’s heretofore-unintroduced character indicates, he may not be the only mafia game in town. And what’s more, on his first night out, Dwight sleeps with a divorcee bridesmaid ( Andrea Savage ) who turns out to be an ATF agent hot on his heels. But for now, Sheridan and showrunner Terence Winter (“Boardwalk Empire”) are content to let us luxuriate in the delight of watching Stallone do his thing in a decidedly unfamiliar climate: the West.

When “Tulsa King” coasts on its winking, knowing comedy, it’s gangbusters. Stallone, for all his failed attempts at starring in explicit comedies (“ Rhinestone ,” “ Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot ”) is, when he wants to be, a really funny guy. Dwight’s a perfect conduit for his particular combo of affable aggression, like Joe Pesci ’s character from “ GoodFellas ” if he were as tall as he truly wanted to be. He talks fast (well, fast for Sly) and makes friends at the edge of a knife, spending scene after scene warming up to or dressing down the show’s honky-tonk cast of characters.

There’s admittedly a certain red-state appeal to a man’s man like Stallone riffing on the perceived cosmopolitan nature of 21st-century life. Dwight is a man not just out of space, but time; having spent a quarter century in the big house, he’s perplexed by smartphone apps, legal weed, and all these goddamn pronouns . “I feel like Rip Van Winkle,” he confesses to Bodhi after accidentally getting high in the backseat of a car.

But these moments of political incorrectness don’t read as rebukes of the advances of society, not in the way the average “Yellowstone” fan might respond to them. Rather, Dwight’s confused and lost about his place in the world—about the years he sacrificed to a mentor who repays him with exile or the daughter who won’t talk to him anymore. He’s a man alienated by his circumstances, forced to rebuild himself in a world that no longer shares his values.

That’s Dwight, and that’s also Stallone: Television, it seems, is his Tulsa, and the big-screen legend consciously bristles in his new confines. But the 76-year-old shows no signs of slowing down, and on the small screen he seems, if anything, even larger than he did before. Under Winter and Sheridan’s pen, “Tulsa King” is both mafia dramedy and Western, Sly sitting somewhere between Chili Palmer and John Wayne ’s Ethan Edwards in “ The Searchers .”

It’s a fitting space for him to occupy, both as aging action star and wizened character actor. The show around him occasionally struggles to keep up— Garrett Hedlund , Dana Delaney , and Annabella Sciorra are barely present, despite occupying significant space in the credits and press materials. But it’s worth sticking around to see what role they’ll play in Sly’s most interesting ride into the sunset.

First two episodes screened for review. Tulsa King comes to Paramount+ on November 13th.

Clint Worthington

Clint Worthington is a Chicago-based film/TV critic and podcaster. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Spool , as well as a Senior Staff Writer for Consequence . He is also a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and Critics Choice Association. You can also find his byline at RogerEbert.com, Vulture, The Companion, FOX Digital, and elsewhere.

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Watch Tulsa King with a subscription on Prime Video, Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Cast & Crew

Sylvester Stallone

Dwight "The General" Manfredi

Andrea Savage

Stacy Beale

Martin Starr

Max Casella

Armand Truisi

Domenick Lombardozzi

Charles "Chickie" Invernizzi

Vincent Piazza

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‘Tulsa King’ Is a Rickety Star Vehicle for Sylvester Stallone: TV Review

By Joshua Alston

Joshua Alston

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“ Tulsa King ,” the new Paramount+ drama created by Taylor Sheridan and Terence Winter, is entirely too conventional and workmanlike to be a remarkable series. And yet it is remarkable – and oddly fascinating – for a couple of reasons.

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In “Tulsa King,” Stallone inhabits a role clearly conceived with him in mind, and it makes all the difference. “Tulsa King” is a clumsy misfire, but when the show works, it works precisely because of Stallone’s charming, if characteristically mannered, performance. Stallone’s range is as compact as ever, but he navigates it with the precision of a contortionist trapped in a box. “Tulsa King” isn’t a great show with him, but it would be far less interesting without him.

Chickie (a thickly coiffed Domenick Lombardozzi) tells Dwight there’s no longer room for him in the New York organization. His only option is to accept a new assignment: establishing a foothold in Oklahoma’s second-largest city despite having never set foot there. In Tulsa, he’ll be faced with the dual challenge of decoding a new business environment while acclimating to a world different from the one he left behind. Perhaps there is some country for old men after all, and Dwight is determined to seize it.

The premise suggests an uphill battle for an aging crook applying his old-school ways to today’s graft. But the pilot almost immediately extinguishes that potential by putting Dwight on a glide path. A quarter-century out of the hustle hasn’t dulled Dwight’s criminal instincts even slightly. In fact, after barely a couple of hours in the Sooner State, and still toting his luggage, Dwight’s already lined up a personal driver (Jay Will) and the first reluctant inductee into his protection racket. He quite literally strolls into a weed dispensary on a lark, and, within minutes, has put its owner, Bodhi (Martin Starr), under his thumb.

Presumably Dwight’s second act won’t always be quite this smooth, but there’s not much in the two episodes screened for critics that signal roadbumps ahead. The episodes are more interested in calibrating Dwight as a criminal antihero with a refined moral code so as to prevent the audience from turning on him. The pilot gives Dwight opportunities to confront casual racism and clobber a bar patron for getting handsy with women, flashing just enough virtue to let viewers know he’s a capo they can love without guilt.

There’s not even a well-defined antagonist by the end of the two episodes. Sure, there are hints of his pre-prison life creeping in to complicate his new one. And nothing good can come of his romantic spark with Stacy Beale (Andrea Savage), whose inconvenient connection to Dwight will be more than obvious to anyone who bothers to think about it for literally two seconds. But, at least in the first two episodes, Dwight’s only enemy is time itself and all the rideshare apps, TikTok trends, and meme stocks it has unleashed in his absence.

True to Sheridan’s conservative-skewing brand, Dwight whines about personal gender pronouns despite having no reason to even know about such contemporary culture wars, much less to have a dog in the fight. The “what’s the deal with pronouns” monologue sounds like something Stallone might actually say himself, even if it makes no sense for the character he’s playing. Which is what makes Stallone oddly watchable in a show that usually isn’t. By building the world of “Tulsa King” around him, Sheridan and Winter have created a character Sly can’t help but get right.

“Tulsa King” premieres on Nov. 13 on Paramount+ with new episodes rolling out weekly.

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Tulsa King review: Sylvester Stallone stars in Grumpy Old Grand Theft Auto

Stallone is a goodfella gone west in a silly drama that could turn into a low-key comedy.

Yes, Sylvester Stallone asks, "What the f--- is with the pronouns?" And yes, Dwight Manfredi, the mobster Stallone plays in Tulsa King , has other thoughts about what's going on with this country in general nowadays. "GM has gone electric, Dylan's gone public, a phone is a camera?" The New York enforcer just finished a 25-year stint in prison. He's also high as a kite for this Rip Van Winkle monologue. Stallone gives great stoned, which is a nice surprise in a career's seventh decade. When he laughs, he snorts. The Paramount+ show is a ridiculous drama that could become a wry comedy. But is its star the main problem, or the saving grace?

No question, Stallone's the draw: At last, Tango does television! The Paramount+ series, premiering Nov. 13, begins with Dwight leaving the penitentiary. The 75-year-old expects a hero's welcome. Instead, he gets an assignment. Ailing boss Pete (A.C. Peterson) has ceded control to the next generation, including his son Chickie ( Domenick Lombardozzi ) and wild-eyed capo Vince (Vincent Piazza). The middle-aged kids want Dwight to open up a crime outpost in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Not okay, says Dwight. "I made my bones when you were in f---ing diapers," he complains. "Well, now you're wearin' diapers," responds Vince. "Punch!" says Dwight. Actually, he just punches the jerk. Dwight does that a lot.

The concept here is simple: One fish out of two waters. Dwight's a man from the past — da friggin' hell is with these talking crosswalk signals? — and a Brooklyn bad dude in the buckle of the Bible Belt. But in a lame non-twist, this unfrozen caveman gangster does just fine. Right off the plane, he meets a trusty cabbie named Tyson (Jay Will), who becomes his full-time driver. His first stop is a dispensary owned by Bodhi ( Martin Starr ). Tough to imagine a weedier word jumble than "Bodhi (Martin Starr)." Dwight walks in, threatens violence, demands 20 percent of the weekly income, grabs dollar bricks from a safe, and leaves. Crime pays and is easy.

There are sad moments. Dwight lost touch with his daughter and speaks longingly about his late barber dad. You sense some autobiography, since Stallone's own father was a hairdresser. Certainly, it's autobiographical when an attractive young woman walks up to Dwight and says, "Excuse me, are you famous?" Then her friend Stacy (Andrea Savage) asks Dwight to show her his mini-bar. But Stacy freaks when she finds out Dwight remembers when JFK got shot. "This is not an age gap," she declares, not getting her clothes back on fast enough. "This is an age canyon."

Stallone does not look like he was in prison for 25 years. He does not even look 75. Burgess Meredith looked 75 in Rocky III . Whatever supplements and regimens the real-life Rocky has applied to himself make him look only like himself. The last time he sorta disappeared into a part was, coincidentally, 25 years ago. Cop Land starred Stallone and his wonderful belly as a loser Jersey sheriff facing NYPD corruption. That great movie's excellent trick was how Stallone, three Rambo s deep, came off like a believable never-was. The presence of Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, and Ray Liotta brought extra-cinematic tension: Scorsese's guys vs. Planet Hollywood. Tulsa King needs legit threats like that. So far, the bad criminals are vain weaklings, and the Tulsans think Dwight's awesome. And there's a big twist with Stacy which is funny in the wrong way, though it gives Savage a chance to show off her screwball comedy chops.

Creator Taylor Sheridan made Yellowstone . Paramount would like him to make a thousand more of that. I wonder, though, if he's sensitive to allegations that his Manly-Man output leans arch-conservative. Tyson is the Black chauffeur for a white man named after President Eisenhower, and at one point Dwight actually tells the younger man: "Someone's gonna slap some good grammar in your mouth." Geesh. But in the same episode, a local dealer won't let Tyson buy a car, so Dwight pays the man a visit. "You see a young Black guy with a mountain of money and right away you say, 'Oh, he's gotta be a drug dealer'," he says. "But I walk in, a nice suit, and you're not afraid anymore." And that's how racism works , Dwight does not say, though he does punch the salesman. Later, he punches a guy who's being too grabby with a woman.

You sense an urge to star-polish Dwight's rough edges. Tulsa King 's showrunner is Terence Winter , who worked on The Sopranos before creating Boardwalk Empire . One of those was a masterpiece about an awful man's moral downfall, and the other was a gorgeous vulgar goof. I had high hopes for Boardwalk Goes West , but Tulsa 's a bit of a diet beverage. Garrett Hedlund pops up as a nice barkeep with money issues. Dwight goes to Mickey Mantle's house to talk about how great Mickey Mantle was. You keep waiting for someone to challenge his toughness, or for one just-punched victim to call the cops. The one moment of genuine drama comes in that pronoun monologue. The camera cuts to Bodhi, who is supposed to be afraid that Dwight will get him killed. Starr's visible anxiety channels a deeper fear: Is this the scene that gets me canceled?

The Tulsa location is distinctive. Stallone is never not interesting, so the best moments are his quiet ones: Dwight ordering ribs at a lonely bar, Dwight wearing his reading glasses while he types. An upcoming Cop Land reunion with Annabella Sciorra is enough to keep me watching. The question for Tulsa King going forward is whether it can complicate Dwight's archaic act or sanctify him as a boomer bull in a millennial china shop. Right now, it's a frictionless fantasy about making instant friends, attracting younger women, and instantly knowing everything about the legal pot industry. Imagine a show that zeroed in on the comedy potential of Starr and Stallone as odd-couple criminals in the burgeoning cannabis space. Who wouldn't watch Yellowstoned ?

Grade: C+

Sylvester Stallone’s First TV Show, ‘Tulsa King,’ Is All in Good Fun

Ben travers.

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“Yellowstone,” “Mayor of Kingstown,” “1883” — so far, Taylor Sheridan ’s steadily expanding TV universe has hewed closely to the writer-director’s breakthrough hit. And why not? Kevin Costner’s soapy family saga is a ratings juggernaut, its success credited to a setting in what’s left of America’s wild west, where the old ways of doing things clash with new ideas of right and wrong. A prequel, “1883,” ditches any pretense by abandoning the present to live fully in the past. Surrounding the Duttons’ actual ancestors are colonizers and covered wagons, shootouts and scenic vistas. If Costner represents the last of the cowboys, then Sam Elliott is their paragon at the peak of their prevalence. Even “Mayor of Kingstown,” which has no narrative ties to “Yellowstone,” is told like a modern Western with a heavy emphasis on family, reform, and machismo. Jeremy Renner may not wear a Stetson, but he may as well have a six-shooter hanging from his hip.

Families, gunfights, and a healthy respect for rural America aren’t all these shows have in common. Dating back to his first feature screenplay, the 2015 film “Sicario,” Sheridan’s work has always been deadly serious. John Dutton has nearly died a dozen times. His forefathers’ long journey toward Montana was a deadly one. “Mayor of Kingstown” is so fixated on being taken seriously, its best actor is killed off within the first hour.

Perhaps that’s why “ Tulsa King ,” Sheridan’s latest series for Paramount, feels like a breath of fresh air. Starring Sylvester Stallone as an aging gangster exiled to Oklahoma after a 25-year prison sentence, the first two episodes feature their fair share of punches, posturing, and family problems. But so far, it has more in common with movies like “Space Cowboys” and “The Old Man and the Gun” than “Sicario” and “Wind River”; stories about old men trying to make good before it’s all over, but doing so with a wink and a smile. In the hands of showrunner and co-writer Terence Winter (“Boardwalk Empire”), there’s also a breezy quality to the proceedings that befits the star’s dual skillset: an intimidating heavy one minute and a waggish teddy bear the next. In future seasons, if not the next few episodes, “Tulsa King” could end up adopting its creator’s predilection for self-seriousness, but the show’s geniality and Sly’s sparks offer a better, brighter path forward.

Tulsa King Jay Will as Tyson, Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi, and Martin Starr as Bodhi of the Paramount+ original series TULSA KING. Photo Cr: Brian Douglas/Paramount+. © 2022 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Meet Dwight Manfredi (Stallone). Dubbed “The General” (since, as he tells people, he was named after Dwight. D. Eisenhower), the lifelong New Yorker has spent two-and-a-half decades in federal prison in order to shield his mafia boss from any charges. Now free, he’s looking forward to a proper reward: a fat payday, a party at Scores gentlemen’s club, and a proper post in the family’s upper ranks. But a lot has changed in 25 years. Kids that Dwight has only seen in diapers are now men who give orders — who give him orders. And one of those orders is to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma, set up an illicit operation, and kick back $5,000 a week to his superiors (you know, just to start).

“Tulsa King” doesn’t waste much time establishing its premise. No clear reason is given as to why “there’s nothing left” for Dwight in his major metropolitan hometown. Even more vexing: Dwight’s opening voiceover reveals he regrets joining up in the first place: “Not 25 years, not 25 seconds” of prison time was worth becoming a gangster, he says. So it makes sense when he takes out his frustration over being banished by thumping a protected mafioso in the nose, even if it makes less sense that he quickly finds his composure and packs his bags. It’s safe to assume some loyalty remains, after spending half his adult life in the clink, or he’s in no position to cut and run at 76 years old, but these are assumptions the audience is asked to make on their own and fast. Before you can say, “What gives?” he’s being pepper-sprayed with holy water by a religious wacko at the Tulsa airport.

Forgiving further unpolished plot movement is relatively easy from there on out because Oklahoma is where things get good. Stallone playing a fish out of water who’s also a bull in a china shop proves perpetually entertaining. The second episode sees Dwight trying to settle into his new digs, making light comedy out of bribing a DMV clerk, applying for a bank account (sans legitimate identification), and accidentally getting high during a key contract negotiation. Winter wisely grounds each awkward or unforeseen scenario in character development, letting viewers get to know Dwight while subverting his tough guy persona, and Stallone’s comedic chops fit Dwight like one of his fine Italian suits.

“Tulsa King” is tailored for the broad-shouldered, barrel-chested actor — not just his action skills, but his ability to surprise. There’s no hiding Stallone’s physical prominence, and the series makes brief use of his physicality, with more brawling and battles sure to come. But there’s a difference between standing out and inviting attention. Most of the time, Dwight acts like an everyman — like there’s nothing abnormal about what he’s doing, even when his mere presence makes things a bit unusual for everyone else. Part of that choice is rooted in character: Dwight has to insist he’s just a normal guy in order to avoid suspicion from the authorities as he goes about establishing a criminal enterprise. Part is in service of the series’ lighter mood. (The hulking Stallone sipping an espresso, mourning the loss of proper glass cups, is just smart observational humor.) But acting innocent is also one of Sly’s specialties, dating all the way back to Rocky Balboa — a rough-and-tumble brawler with a heart so big he’s got room for Adrian plus three pets (Butkus, Cuff, and Link). Seeing the star feign ignorance, exhibit fearlessness, and relent to his real feelings (every so often) gives “Tulsa King” a beating heart of its own.

With only two episodes to evaluate, there’s plenty of time left for Winter’s latest to grow or… not. Once the newness of Tulsa wears off for Dwight, he’ll need to find fresh comedic sources, and there’s no telling what those might be — or if the series will simply lose its loose, laidback vibes altogether. But for now, “Tulsa King” is a much-needed light amid Sheridan’s dark universe — and much of it is thanks to its star.

“Tulsa King” premieres Sunday, November 13 on Paramount+. Episodes will be released weekly, and the first two hours will air on the Paramount Network as a special engagement Sunday, November 20 at 9 p.m. ET.

Yellowstone creator’s Stallone show Tulsa King has no idea how funny it is

All hail the Tulsa King of my heart

by Joshua Rivera

Sylvester Stallone sips a tiny tiny espresso mug in the Paramount Plus show Tulsa King

There are two reasons that Paramount Plus is hoping you’ll check out Tulsa King. The first is hard to miss: Sylvester Stallone , one of the few septuagenarian brick houses walking the Earth, stars in it, his first role in a TV series. The second is creator Taylor Sheridan, the man behind the powerhouse TV series Yellowstone and its growing number of spinoffs (of which Tulsa King is not one... yet.) Together, these two names suggest a vibe, and that vibe is manly men man-show .

To be clear: this would be an accurate read. Tulsa King is more of a relaxed exercise in masculinity than Sheridan’s other creations, but it’s the only real thing driving it. Think less of a running tap of testosterone, and more of an espresso drip, sipped casually. The real reason to watch Tulsa King , however, is quite simple — it’s funny as hell, and it’s not clear if any of it is on purpose.

Tulsa King’s premise is a fish-out-of-water comedy played straight, following Dwight Manfredi (Stallone), a former New York City mafia capo as he ends a 25-year prison sentence only to find that no one wants him around anymore. He’s banished to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and in a bit of positive spin is told to set up shop there. What’s funny is, Dwight absolutely commits to this.

The instant he arrives he starts acting like he’s the star of his own mobster movie, flashing cash around, paying a cab driver, Tyson (Jay Will) to work for him exclusively, and, most hilariously, going to a legal weed dispensary to run a protection scam in order to protect them from “the law.” This part of the show is played for comedy, and it helps that wry comedy expert Martin Starr ( Silicon Valley ) appears in it as Bohdi, the hapless dispensary owner.

The rest of Tulsa King , though? It is impossible to tell if one is laughing at it, or with it. Part of this is due to its creator’s priors. Yellowstone , Tulsa King ’s Sheridan-created sister show, is a series built in part on clowning on those who hail from big cities and find their flashy success is all for naught in the heart of Real America. It laughs at anyone who would choose chinos over blue jeans, and would shred Kendall Roy ’s Sperry Topsiders over a bowl of bran flakes for flavor. Dwight Manfredi, in other words, doesn’t seem built for Sheridan’s world, and the dissonance of Tulsa King ’s pilot is in how Manfredi is written and performed in such a way that he absolutely does not seem to get this .

There are moments where Tulsa King ’s first episode seems like it’s going to be a show about reaching across the aisle, so to speak, particularly when he goes to a cowboy bar and compliments a man’s alligator boots, raising up his own Italian leather loafers for appraisal as well. In other moments, it seems like Tulsa King is going to be about a man who cleans a town up in his (gentlemanly) image, like when he goes to a strip club and ensures a bachelorette party of ladies has a good time by paying the proprietor off and beating up a local creep. And in others, it’s just about what happens when a mafioso shows up in a place where no one expects him too, like when Dwight goes to beat down a used car dealer for being racist to his driver, Tyson (and the show’s only Black character).

Tulsa King , in other words, contains multitudes. It’s a game of Scenes from a Hat masquerading as a TV show, where someone takes a suggestion for what Sylvester Stallone should do next in small-town Oklahoma, and then he goes and does that. It is compelling nonsense and muscular sophistry, a series where one of our greatest meatheads (who is capable of much more than his greatest critics often claim) uses two expressions and one pinky ring in a variety of situations and produces art every time. There’s not much like it, and there’s something thrilling in knowing that it could stop being as entertaining as it is at basically any moment. Until then? Long live the Tulsa King.

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‘Tulsa King’ Review: Stallone Embraces the Absurd in Quirky Taylor Sheridan Series

Sylvester Stallone plays a mob boss released from prison and sent to Tulsa, OK in Sheridan’s latest Paramount+ show

If you’ve made your way to Paramount+ and are even considering checking out “Tulsa King,” you already know what you’re about to get. “Yellowstone” and “1883” creator Taylor Sheridan has proven extremely effective at delivering entertaining tough-guy series helmed by grizzled elders, and his newest is no exception, although far less in ambition and polish than his other Paramount hits.

Despite the prestige pedigree of the co-showrunners — Sheridan wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for “Sicario” and Terence Winter created “Boardwalk Empire” and wrote “The Wolf of Wall Street” — there’s a distinct straight-to-DVD quality to Tulsa King, but that shouldn’t turn off anyone who’s excited for a mob series starring Sylvester Stallone in his first series regular TV role. Sly’s dialogue is harder to comprehend than ever, and we don’t waste much time in setting up backstory before getting straight to the meat of the premise: A Long Island mafia capo, Dwight “The General” Manfredi, gets released from prison after a 25 year sentence, and in short order, he’s dispatched by his boss to Tulsa, Oklahoma to create some business in an unlikely and very underserved market.

“Tulsa King” is as much a fish-out-of-water comedy as it is a mob drama. From the moment he rolls into The Sooner State, he starts to collect a ragtag band of friends, starting with his taxi driver Tyson (Jay Will), whose use of the word “gangster” as a slangy compliment shocks Manfredi. That’s just the first of many Austin Powers-esque gags that has Manfredi reckoning with the fact that time has marched on while he’s been away from society (he’s blown away that there are apps on phones that can call cabs).

Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi of the Paramount+ original series TULSA KING. Photo Cr: Brian Douglas/Paramount+

At least judging from the first two episodes, this isn’t a particularly gritty mob drama (apparently by design courtesy of Stallone ). Manfredi’s assignment in Tulsa turns out to be somewhat low stakes, at least at first. He barges into a medical marijuana dispensary run by Bohdi (Martin Starr) and offers “protection” no one asked for in exchange for laundered cash — even though he is, of course, the only threat. Although Manfredi talks tough and isn’t afraid of punching several faces, we learn he’s a mafioso with a heart of gold. He takes a break from establishing a crime ring to punish a racist car salesman and protect a bachelorette party from handsy dudes in a strip club.

It’s all absurd but quite a bit of fun — no more absurd than the budding romance between Stallone and Andrea Savage (“I’m Sorry”) as one of the revelers from the bachelorette party. Of course, Stallone isn’t at the top of his game, but he doesn’t need to be, and it’s clear he’s having the time of his life.

It doesn’t really matter that “Tulsa King” doesn’t do drama or comedy particularly well — your dad or grandpa will love it.

Cast & crew
User reviews

Following his release from prison, Mafia capo Dwight "The General" Manfredi is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he builds a new criminal empire with a group of unlikely characters. Following his release from prison, Mafia capo Dwight "The General" Manfredi is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he builds a new criminal empire with a group of unlikely characters. Following his release from prison, Mafia capo Dwight "The General" Manfredi is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he builds a new criminal empire with a group of unlikely characters.

Taylor Sheridan
Sylvester Stallone
Andrea Savage
Martin Starr
355 User reviews
29 Critic reviews
5 nominations total

Episodes 19

Top cast 99+

Dwight 'The General' Manfredi

Stacy Beale

Goodie Carangi …

Armand Truisi

Vince Antonacci

Charles 'Chickie' Invernizzi

Mitch Keller

Margaret Devereaux

Tina Manfredi …

Cal Thresher

Pete Invernizzi

Jimmy the Creek …
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

Trivia Sylvester Stallone 's first leading role in a television series.

Non-Descript Character : Where do you worship?

Dwight 'The General' Manfredi : I really don't go to church.

A Statue of The Sioux Indian Chief "Touch the Clouds" wearing a War Bonnet and a Bone Choker necklace (breastplate) imposed on top of the Brooklyn Bridge
Golden Driller Statue imposed on the Statue of Liberty
Route 66 Western Gateway Arch imposed on a Major Manhattan "Avenue". In New York City, in the Borough of Manhattan, that are several numbered "Avenues" that are criss-crossed by smaller numbered streets.
Connections Featured in CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley: Episode #45.7 (2022)

User reviews 355

Nov 19, 2022

IMDb's 2024 TV Guide

How many seasons does Tulsa King have? Powered by Alexa
November 13, 2022 (United States)
United States
Ông Trùm Vùng Tulsa
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA (Season 1)
101 Studios
Bosque Ranch Productions
Cold Front Productions
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

Runtime 40 minutes
Dolby Digital