Sylvester Stallone recently proved his acting royalty translates to television as Tulsa King will be returning for a second season. The Amazon Prime series that takes place in the South Central region of the United States, or “flyover country” as some call it, comes from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and, with its success and similar bones, some wonder if the shows share any sort of deeper connections.
As of this article’s filing, the answer within the fictional world that Stallone and Sheridan have developed, is a ‘no’. Stallone has said in interviews he doubts his character, recently relocated New York Mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi, will be headed to Montana to face off with Kevin Costner’s Dutton clan. He has, however said his character will come close to similar types on Tulsa King. Sheridan has not addressed the question yet, but he does have control over the four fictional shows he currently has airing that includes 1883 and the upcoming 1923, prequels to the Yellowstone modern era. As Sheridan continues to flesh out his Yellowstone universe given the time he has, there are always possibilities for more things to come together down the line.
The 52-year-old Sheridan, however, has admitted his current volume of work is not sustainable. In the event he exits, studio owner Paramount could take more hands-on control of his franchises via someone behind the scenes they perhaps could manage more easily. This has happened before in entertainment in both television and film and, with Yellowstone’s streaming home Paramount Plus eyeing an expansion globally, they will need content that will draw in eyeballs and bank accounts.
So, for now, Tulsa King remains its own thing. More could happen in the future, and in a variety of ways as well. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, Yellowstone is entering its fifth season, 1883 was a one-off prequel, 1923 may end up being the same, and, while Mayor of Kingstown is getting a second season with more rollicking Renner antics, it has not connected itself to anything either. Tulsa King remains a hit and its premiere numbers even topped House of the Dragon due to a preview on the Paramount Network. While Stallone may find the world in which it was made to be brutal, he will have no choice but to continue with it for the time being, and, if things go the way some envision, he could be taking over a certain ranch in another part of America much later.