Taylor Sheridan has a lot of great shows, but if you only have time to watch one, crime drama Tulsa King is the best one!
Taylor Sheridan is currently one of the biggest and most successful producers in television. It started with his smash hit Yellowstone, which stunned everyone with its huge success. That led to a universe with spinoffs of 1883, 1923 and more to come.
Sheridan has kept himself busy with other shows such as Lioness and Landsman. However, if you have to narrow it down to just one Sheridan show to watch, then Tulsa King is a fantastic drama that works well for any crime fan! Thankfully, the series has already been renewed for a third season and the cast and crew are currently hard at work filming.
What is Tulsa King about (and why you should watch it)
Debuting on Paramount+ in 2022, Tulsa King opens with Dwight "The General" Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) leaving prison after serving a 25-year sentence for taking the fall for his New York mob bosses.
Dwight expects to be welcomed back into the Invernizzi crime family. Instead, he's sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to set up a new operation, with Dwight realizing it's more of an exile. Obviously, as a lifelong New Yorker, he doesn't take well to this smaller city.
Nonetheless, Dwight quickly strikes up a partnership with cab driver Tyson (Jay Will), who he hires as his driver. His first move is to meet Bodhi (Martin Starr), the owner of a local marijuana dispensary. Upon hearing how this is legal, Dwight soon takes control of the place and uses it as the foundation to build his own criminal empire in Tulsa.
The pilot also has Dwight having a one-night stand with Stacy Beale (Andrea Savage), who turns out to be an ATF agent, not happy to learn she slept with a mobster. The series follows Dwight as he builds his own syndicate, which does not make his bosses back home happy.
That sounds like a good premise for a drama, so why should this show be a must-watch?
Stallone is in fine form
The first and foremost reason to watch the show is Sylvester Stallone. In his first TV series, the iconic actor is absolutely perfect as Dwight. He carries a world-weary attitude at first, only to come alive as he builds this new crime enterprise and enjoys himself. He's obviously tough and intimidating, yet he also has a nice charm and humor to endear himself to others.
Stallone is a very underrated actor, and the series lets him showcase his talents. Much of the humor comes from a New York mob boss stuck in the Midwest and, having been in jail for a quarter-century, has some "old school" attitudes that rub folks the wrong way. Seeing Dwight take it to folks using social media is always fun.
The star power of Stallone alone puts this show ahead of other Sheridan offerings and seeing Dwight balance his family (both crime and daughter) is some fantastic viewing.
The rest of the cast is just as good
Thankfully, Stallone has a good cast backing him up. His chemistry with Savage is excellent, and their odd romance is growing. Will and Starr provide great levity and often good laughs with their antics, and it's fun to see them pulled deeper into this criminal life.
There's also Max Casella as Manny, a former mafia hitman who at first tries to kill Dwight only to join him. The second season only amps it up with Frank Grillo as a rival mobster, Neal McDonough as a corrupt businessman, and the always fabulous Dana Delaney as a rancher and new love interest for Dwight. As always, Sheridan has a fine supporting cast to make this more than just Stallone's show.
The crime battles are inventive
The show obviously talks a lot about crime, especially in Tulsa King season 2 when Dwight has to tangle with the Kansas City mafia. An inventive turn is that even the Mafia has to flex with the times. While Dwight and others in the Invernizzi family are "old school" for the most part, the Tulsa gangs use cyberattacks as much as protection rackets.
The clashes of Dwight against both the Invernizzi (who are in the midst of a power struggle) and the Kansas City guys are great. There's also the ATF around with Dwight having to play fun games to stay out of jail. Throw in a Native American tribe/crime syndicate, and season 2 is a wild affair that makes this an excellent combination of crime drama and Western for a more original show.
It can be funny
While the show has all the ingredients to be a gritty crime drama, there's a wry sense of humor about it. Stallone's charm as Dwight makes what could have been a hard-edged killer into a guy who means well and logical why folks would follow him.
The comedy is well-handled by Starr trying to keep his sanity amid the growing criminal work, and his explaining things like cell phones or the Internet to Dwight never gets old. There's also witty banter between the crooks and the federal agents. Just when the show looks too dark, we get some flat-out comedy, and the balance of levity and drama makes this more entertaining than other Sheridan shows, which can be a bit dark.
Unlike other Sheridan shows, there's no pontificating or pushing political/social stuff. There are bits like Dwight using wind turbines for a scheme, but the show pushes the characters and stronger writing rather than any agenda. It also has better-written female characters than other Sheridan series and mixing crime show and Western truly works.
While 1883 is great, you need to know more about Yellowstone to truly appreciate it. In contrast, Tulsa King is a stand-alone tale that doesn't require you to be as attuned to other shows and stands on its own. In that regard, it works wonderfully.
With two seasons down and a third coming, it's a great time to get into Tulsa King. Stallone's performance alone makes it a must-watch, along with fine writing and a great supporting cast, and it gets better as it goes to make this maybe the best of Sheridan's current TV offerings.
Tulsa King is streaming on Paramount+.