Producer Taylor Sheridan’s achievements are often synonymized with the immense success of Yellowstone, which has been recognized as one of the most streamed shows to date. This is until the release of Tulsa King that broke all records. Sheridan created this show as a part of his overall deal with Paramount which became an instant hit amongst the fans with a viewership of over 3.7 million people. He served as the series’ Executive Producer alongside the Emmy Award winner showrunner Terence Winter.
Besides the enthralling plot, some of the reasons that attracted a massive viewership for the show include its streaming right after the season five premiere of Yellowstone and the casting of Hollywood heartthrob Sylvester Stallone as the protagonist.
Stallone stars as ex-convict Dwight Manfredi, subscribing to the archetypical alpha-male ex-convict who, twenty-five years after getting released from prison is banished to Tulsa, Oklahoma by his family, who had taken over his business during the years of his imprisonment. During this period in exile, he teamed up with a group of criminals to rebuild his empire from scratch.
Stallone was critically acclaimed for his performance in his debut TV role as well as for his fresh take on the gangster genre as a whole. As a result of the show’s tremendous success, it has been greenlighted for a second season after the release of only three episodes. Let’s shine some light on the same.
Why is Tulsa King so popular with fans?
The show premiered on Nov. 13 on Paramount Plus which saw the highest number of new subscribers on the streaming platform in a single day. After a massive viewing, the show also got the license to stream on Paramount Network with its first two episodes airing on Nov. 27 and 30 respectively, immediately after the release of Yellowstone.
The streaming of the episodes on Paramount Network proved to be tremendously beneficial as this shot the viewership up to around 3.7 million, making it the number one series of the year, topping the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.
Commenting on the series’ success and popularity, Chris McCarthy, president/CEO of Paramount Media Networks said,
“Tulsa King scored as the #1 new series of the year, topping all others including the ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel ‘House of the Dragon,’ with its preview on Paramount Network, and on Paramount+, it shattered records, driving us to our biggest new sign-up day in history – which is why we instantly greenlit season two. ‘Tulsa King’ together with ‘Mayor of Kingstown,’ ‘1883’ and the upcoming ‘1923,’ undeniably confirm the success of our strategy to franchise ‘Yellowstone’ and use it to supercharge streaming growth – none of which would be possible without the creative mastermind of Taylor Sheridan.”
Adding to the comment, the Chief Programming Officer of Paramount, Tanya Giles added,
“With the combination of the incomparable Sylvester Stallone and Taylor Sheridan’s darkly comedic twist on the beloved mobster genre, we have found our latest hit in ‘Tulsa King.’ The series premiere on Paramount+ helped drive a record sign-up day fueled by our unique ability as Paramount Global to tap into Paramount Network’s incredible ‘Yellowstone’ audience.”
On Nov. 30, the show’s return with a second season was made public. Since the first season isn’t over yet, it is unclear when exactly the next season will be aired. Speculations around this subject suggest that it might be aired in the fall of 2023 if season one has 10 episodes.
Even though it is unknown about the direction in which the story is steering into and what would constitute the key plot of season two — apart from it being a continuation of the first season — there are chances that the actors from season one would continue to play their respective roles until they are discontinued prior to the ending of the first season. These include Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi and others such as Max Casella, Domenick Lombardozzi, Vincent Piazza, Jay Will, Martin Starr, and Dena Delany, to name a few.
Let’s wait, enjoy, and anticipate the upcoming episodes of the show until season two hits the screen.