I was skeptical about Tulsa King when it came out in 2022. The series seemed like the ultimate dad television show, featuring a weathered ’80s superstar that children’s grandparents talk about. From Rambo to Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Stallone’s films made over a billion dollars in the ’80s without today’s special effects.
Stallone’s dive into streaming television paid off handsomely. The first season was well received. Tulsa King, created by the minds behind Yellowstone and a former head writer of The Sopranos, does a masterful job of toggling between visceral violence and ominous black comedy.
In short, Tulsa King remains the brass-knuckles-bruising comedy we have come to love despite its considerable flaws.
Paramount+’s Tulsa King Season 2 Review and Synopsis
The last time we saw Sylvester Stallone’s “General,” he had taken control of the organized crime scene in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dwight entered Bodhi’s (Martin Starr) cannabis distribution shop and became a partner in Mitch’s (Garret Hedlund) bar, transforming the establishment into a casino.
However, his “friend with benefits,” Stacey Beale (Andrea Savage), who is also a senior ATF agent, turned him in for bribing a federal agent. It’s a situation that leaves viewers wondering how she will explain her actions, given that she has turned a blind eye to his shenanigans for months.
No one questioned whether it was right for Manfredi to set up shop in Tulsa. Dwight’s former boss, Chickie (Reacher’s Domenick Lombardozzi ), banished him to the Golden Hurricane as a joke and a way to move him away from his territory in New York City.
Tulsa King Season 2 Remains a Brass Knuckles Comedy!
And that’s where Tulsa King gets its juice. Chickie never bothered to inform the mafia in Kansas City about who owns the territory. Cue formidable actor Frank Grillo, who plays Bill Bevilaqua, the Midwest mafia kingpin who wants a piece of Dwight’s American dream.
Where we had Stallone facing off against many locals last year, things come into full force in the show’s second season—only the first four episodes were screened for the sophomore effort. However, the tension builds, and the sparks fly when Stallone and Grillo square off.
Not to mention, Lombardozzi continues to display an intensity we haven’t seen since Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano. Then there’s Neal McDonough’s Cal Thresher, a hired gun. By the fourth episode, lines are drawn, enemies are fortified, and enough testosterone is thrown around to keep Barry Bonds happy through his record-breaking season.
Is Paramount+’s Tulsa King Season 2 Worth Watching?
Tulsa King is worth watching because the writing remains sharp. This is hardly surprising, given that Taylor Sheridan, the Paramount+ showrunner, creates the series. Under Allen Coulter’s direction, Tulsa King is The Sopranos light—viscerally entertaining and darkly comical.
My concern for Tulsa King is that he sometimes takes extreme storytelling leaps. For example, for some reason, the writers thought it would be a great idea to have Stallone’s mobster represent himself at trial. So, if you are looking for a series of crime dramas, Sheridan’s show lacks a consistent tone.
However, that’s beside the point. Stallone’s series is often frighteningly funny, frequently thrilling, and an addictive series about a group of misfits trying to carve out a piece of the pie for themselves. Which I guess makes Stallone the Sarah Lee of modern crime shows.
You can stream the second season of Tulsa King on Paramount + on September 15th.
Tulsa King Season 2 Review — A Brass Knuckles Comedy!
Tulsa King remains a brass-knuckles-bruising comedy that scratches that itch for some nostalgic throwback dad television. Sylvester Stallone’s series is often frighteningly funny, frequently thrilling, and an addictive series about a group of misfits trying to carve out a piece of the pie for themselves.
