It’s good to be the king. Tulsa King, starring Sylvester Stallone and created by Taylor Sheridan, received a quick renewal for Season 2 thanks to the breakout success of its first season. Stallone (who also executive produces) stars as Dwight “the General” Manfredi, a New York City mafia capo who gets released from federal prison after serving a 25-year sentence and is quickly shipped off to explore new illegal business opportunities in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Over the course of Season 1, the charming crook rapidly ascended to a position of power in Tulsa’s disorganized criminal underworld, only to have his new empire put in jeopardy in the final moments of the season finale when he was arrested once again.
Even though it’s been a while since Tulsa King Season 1 ended back in January 2023, details on Season 2 are scant, but there are a few hints online about what’s to come. Here’s everything we know so far about Tulsa King Season 2.
Tulsa King Season 2 latest news
It looks like Terence Winter got an offer he couldn’t refuse. The showrunner of Tulsa King’s first season is returning to the writers room for Season 2, per The Hollywood Reporter. This time, though, he won’t be showrunner. The series reportedly won’t have a traditional showrunner for the second season and will be guided by an executive producer and director, who has not been named.
News of Winter’s return to the writers room came in late February of this year. Winter, whose experience as the creator of Boardwalk Empire and a writer on The Sopranos contributed to Tulsa King’s mafia show credentials, previously stepped down as showrunner in February 2023, with Deadline citing “creative differences.” He was already set to remain an executive producer in Season 2.
Tulsa King Season 2 production
Speaking to Newsweek in May 2023, Stallone acknowledged the impact that the writers strike was having on production, while throwing his support behind the WGA. “It’s definitely affecting work because we can’t move forward with a lot of projects, especially Tulsa King,” Stallone said. “But I think it’s changed so much that the writers do have a serious gripe… They’re in a grievance that it’s changed. There’s not enough work to keep all these writers going.”
Even before the writers and actors strikes began, production on Season 2 was facing delays, likely due to the shakeup in the writers room with Terence Winter stepping down as showrunner.
And sad news for Oklahomans excited to see more of their state on the big screen. After filming Season 1 in and around Tulsa (authenticity!), it looks like Season 2 will not return to the Sooner state to shoot. Despite generous tax incentives, the production will find a new place to call Tulsa due to factors like the heat, according to The Oklahoman.
Tulsa King Season 2 renewal
Tulsa King was officially renewed for Season 2 in November 2022. The news came after only three episodes of the series had aired.
And there could be more shows in the Tulsa King universe to come. Taylor Sheridan is in the universe-building business — Yellowstone has already spawned two spin-offs, with more in the works — so it’s highly possible that Tulsa King could get a spin-off of its own someday. “The huge success we’ve had with Tulsa King and Sylvester Stallone opens up possibilities with Taylor Sheridan, who consistently, his mind works in terms of universes and backstories, so I think there’s always a possibility that there’s more to that universe and more to that story,” Paramount Global streaming chief Tanya Giles told IndieWire in January 2023, adding, “More to come there.” Sounds promising!
Tulsa King Season 1 recap
Dwight Manfredi is fresh out of federal prison after serving 25 years for a murder that wasn’t even really his fault, and neither his mafia family nor his real family want him around. So his boss in the Invernizzi crime family sends him to Tulsa for a fresh start. Even though he’s a fish out of water, he takes to the honky-tonkin’ city swimmingly, introducing old-school New Yawk City mobster swagger to the locals. He sets up a crew, which includes his driver, Tyson (Jay Will); Manny (Max Casella), a former Invernizzi soldier who fled to Tulsa years ago and gets back into the life when Dwight comes to town; Bodhi (Martin Starr), the owner of a weed dispensary Dwight “partners” with on a money laundering venture; and Mitch (Garrett Hedlund), the well-connected ex-con owner of the Bred-2-Buck bar. Dwight strikes up a romantic relationship with Stacy Beale (Andrea Savage), an ATF agent who’s conflicted over her feelings for the unrepentant felon and runs afoul of the local kingpin, biker gang leader Waltrip (Ritchie Coster), leading to violent conflict between the two crews.
In the finale, Dwight and his crew defeated Waltrip after a shootout in the Bred-2-Buck set to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” and severed ties with the Invernizzi family, telling underboss Chickie (Domenick Lombardozzi) “I want you to pack your s***, get on a plane and stay the f*** out of my town.” Flash-forward to three months later, and everything seemed fine. Dwight’s business was booming, his relationship with his formerly estranged daughter Tina (Tatiana Zappardino) was vastly improved, and the Bred-2-Buck reopened after renovations to clean up all the blood and bullet holes. But the good times weren’t meant to last.
Stacy’s ATF superiors found out about her relationship with Dwight — and the million-dollar bank account he gifted her — and threatened to fire her unless she turned her paramour in. So in the episode’s final moments, Stacy did her job, setting Dwight up to be arrested by the feds. Again.
Tulsa King Season 2 storyline
Presumably, Season 2 will pick up in the aftermath of Dwight’s arrest. He now has some legal trouble he didn’t have in Season 1, which opens up some new storytelling possibilities. And we don’t expect that Chickie will allow Dwight to disrespect him and walk away from the family so easily, so we anticipate that that simmering conflict will boil over in a big way next season.
Tulsa King Season 2 cast
No major characters died in the Season 1 finale, so presumably everyone will be back for Season 2.
Main cast members
- Sylvester Stallone as Dwight “The General” Manfredi
- Andrea Savageas Stacy Beale
- Max Casella as Armand Truisi
- Martin Starr as Bodhi
- Domenick Lombardozzi as Charles “Chickie” Invernizzi
- Vincent Piazza as Vince Antonacci
- Jay Will as Tyson Mitchell
- Garrett Hedlund as Mitch Keller
- A.C. Peterson as Pete Invernizzi
- Dana Delany as Margaret Deveraux
More shows like Tulsa King
If you loved Tulsa King’s mix of crime drama and fish-out-of-water comedy and want to watch more shows like it, you’re actually in luck; there’s more than one show in that highly specific subgenre. Those and more are on our list of the best shows like Tulsa King to watch while you wait for Season 2.
You can also watch The Family Stallone, a reality show that follows Sylvester Stallone, his wife Jennifer Flavin Stallone, and his three daughters, Sophia, Sistine, and Scarlet. The second season of The Family Stallone was released in February.
Where to watch Tulsa King
Season 1 is available to stream on Paramount+.