A major Tulsa King creative clarifies Taylor Sheridan’s role in the series. Tulsa King is a crime drama series created by Sheridan that saw Terrence Winter as the showrunner for season 1, but would see a less traditional showrunner structure in season 2 after Winter stepped down from the role. Tulsa King features a leading cast including Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, Chris Caldovino, Dashiell Connery, and Tatiana Zappardino. Tulsa King season 2 will premiere on Sunday, September 15.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Winter discusses Sheridan’s involvement in the series. According to the former showrunner, Sheridan was most involved in the pilot for Tulsa King, which the creator wrote. After that point, Sheridan supposedly gave Winter more free rein of the series, saying “Take it and run with it.” After that point, Sheridan was fairly hands-off, and Winter says he “literally only met Taylor, in person, one time.” From what the showrunner has heard, Sheridan does like the show. Check out the full quote from Winter below:
Taylor wrote the original version of the pilot, gave it to me, and said, “Take it and run with it.” And I did. I literally only met Taylor, in person, one time — and that was two-and-a-half years ago. We just went off and did the show with Sly and I hear Taylor likes it. He’s certainly got enough on his plate for him to worry about what we’re doing over in Tulsa.
The Tulsa King Showrunner Status Explained
Winter Stepped Down After Season 1
Winter’s description of getting massive creative liberty over Tulsa King comes as somewhat of a surprise given what happened with the show’s leadership. Following Tulsa King season 1’s airing in 2022, it was announced in February 2023 that Winter would be stepping down as showrunner, who cites scheduling conflicts. However, Winter’s recent statement implies Sheridan entrusted him with a lot of control over Tulsa King after the pilot was written.
Another element of Winter’s statement is the assertion that Sheridan has “got enough on his plate,” leading him to be more hands-off for Tulsa King. It is certainly true that Sheridan has a busy slate. This fall alone sees the release of Yellowstone season 5, part 2 as well as Landman season 1, both of which Sheridan created.He is also coming off of Mayor of Kingstown season 3 and will see Lioness season 2 arrive later this fall. With all of Sheridan’s projects, it’s not a surprise he isn’t available to be fully involved with production on all of them.
Whatever that meant for Sheridan’s level of involvement in Tulsa King, it is in good hands. Earning a season 2 renewal after only 3 episodes aired shows the faith Paramount+ has in the series. After stepping down, Winter remained on the series as a writer and executive producer. While Tulsa King may no longer be steered in whatever direction Winter wants it to go in, the creative that helped bring Tulsa King season 1 to success is still deeply involved in the series.