In the annals of all-time great TV characters, there are eloquent men and women of immense depth and sophistication who’ve managed to elevate sitcoms, made us root for antiheroes, and burrowed their way into our imagination thanks to how well-written and fully realized they are. And then there are characters like Dwight “The General” Manfredi, the hulking, gravely voiced mafia capo at the heart of Taylor Sheridan’s Tulsa King whose whole schtick ought to be a clown show — but instead gives Sylvester Stallone a chance to have some of the most fun of his career while beating down Dwight’s enemies and delivering lines line: “When I play my hand, you won’t see it coming.”
In Tulsa King, streaming on Paramount+, Stallone’s Manfredi is newly released from prison after a 25-year stint behind bars, and his bosses immediately send him to Tulsa to set up a new criminal empire. The show, and the character, are classic Sheridan; rugged, ultra-masculine embodiments of different aspects of the American experience, with Sheridan’s other Paramount+ shows also exploring characters through the lens of the private prison industry, the Texas oil boom, frontier expansion, and modern ranching.
This being Sheridan, though, let it be said: Shakespeare, Tulsa King is not. The writing is blue collar through and through, which suited me just fine. In fact, Season 1 was a mostly enjoyable experience, because the show doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not — and, with Dwight promising in the new trailer, “Looks like we got trouble comin’ our way,” the sophomore season looks set to amp up the action and the stakes bigly, starting with the consequences of that big shocker at the end of Season 1.
Dwight found himself in handcuffs and once again being hauled away by law enforcement because, without giving it away, there is nothing new under the Tulsa sun. In Season 2, premiering on Sept. 15, Paramount teases that “Dwight (Stallone) and his crew continue to build up and defend their growing empire in Tulsa — but, just as they get their bearings, they realize that they’re not the only ones who want to stake their claim.
“With looming threats from the Kansas City mob and a very powerful local businessman, Dwight struggles to keep his family and crew safe while keeping track of all his affairs. Plus, he still has unfinished business back in New York.”
Among the many surprises that Tulsa King still has in store, Paramount has also revealed that country star Jelly Roll will cameo in the upcoming season. And the trailer, below, features a sneak peek of his unreleased song “Get By,” from his upcoming sophomore album.