50 years after missing out on a part in Francis Ford Coppola’s gangster epic The Godfather, Sylvester Stallone’s mobster dreams finally came true with Paramount+ series Tulsa King, co-created by Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan. As Dwight Manfredi, a fresh outta prison capo tasked with rebuilding his life and criminal empire out in Oklahoma, Stallone deftly balanced the show’s ambitiously varied genre leanings — between comedy and drama, Western and crime thriller — in a way audiences, well, couldn’t refuse. Now, after *that* cliffhanger S1 finale, the man they call The General is back to fight for his Tulsa King throne in the show’s hotly anticipated second season. And if the first trailer’s anything to go by, it’s looking set to be another knockout from the guy who gave us Rocky. Check it out below:
Weed farms, windmills, sharp suits, and even sharper looking shooters abound in this first proper look at Season 2, which sees Sly’s Dwight — somehow off the hook from another seemingly surefire second stint in the slammer — continuing to build his Midwestern mafioso empire as new contenders emerge for his self-fashioned throne. But it’s not all bodybags, high-roller tables, and wise guys saying things like “Things don’t really belong to people unless they got the balls to take ’em.” The first series’ rich vein of *ahem* Sly humour looks set to continue here too, with a tension-puncturing end-of-teaser sting seeing Stallone’s Dwight reel off his own take on conflict resolution as his grandsons pillow-fight. “Nothing resolves a conflict like a good smack in the chops,” quips Dwight, before the trailer smash-cuts to The General putting his own philosophy to good, clobbersome use.
Here’s the official synopsis for Season 2: “Dwight and his crew continue to build up and defend their growing empire in Tulsa, but just as they get their bearings, they realize that they’re not the only ones who want to stake their claim. With looming threats from the Kansas City mob and a very powerful local businessman, Dwight struggles to keep his family and crew safe while keeping track of all his affairs. Plus, he still has unfinished business back in New York.” Martin Starr, Jay Will, Max Casella, Vincent Piazza, Tatiana Zappardino, and Annabella Sciorra are all back reprising their S1 roles here, with new cast additions including Neal McDonough, Frank Grillo, Domenick Lombardozzi, Andrea Savage, Garrett Hedlund, and Dana Delany.
Will Dwight’s new empire continue to rise? Or, like Rome, is it all destined to come crashing down around The General’s feet? We’ll find out when Tulsa King Season 2 arrives on Paramount+ on 15 September. After watching Netflix’s stellar Stallone doc Sly last year though, we’d advise any mobsters eyeing Stallone’s throne to leave their guns, take the cannoli, and run while they still can — that man is unstoppable!