Sylvester Stallone has been a pop culture icon and American film staple going on 50 years since donning the pork pie hat and sparring with sides of beef. The success of Rocky, its numerous sequels, and a string of other hits have cemented Stallone as one of the biggest movie stars of his generation. Granted, they haven’t all been Rockys. For every Copland, there’s a Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. But the name still resonates no matter which films he’s judged by.

Sly has dabbled in television over the decades, mostly in his early years, but has stuck almost entirely to film. But working in television isn’t the same career death knell it used to be. Streaming is a legitimate rival to the cinema with the quality of series, as well as the actors it’s drawing in. Add Stallone to the list of big names enticed by the other end of the viewing spectrum. He is starring in the mob drama Tulsa King now streaming on Paramount+. Here’s everything you need to know about the series.

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Tulsa King: The Plot

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The story of Tulsa King revolves around a former New York mafia boss Dwight “The General” Manfredi, played by Stallone. Manfredi is locked up for 25 years, obeys the code of silence/not ratting on your friends, and expects to be well compensated upon his release. Instead, Manfredi is banished from the bright lights of the East Coast to the Badlands of the Midwest.

The new blood in charge of the criminal enterprise sends the mob veteran off to Tulsa, Oklahoma, under the pretense of setting up shop in the Sooner State. It’s really just sweeping the old guy under the rug, but Manfredi decides to establish himself in Tulsa instead of wallowing in forced retirement.

Stallone has made his career playing tough guys but has never had the chance to play a real serious gangster role. Stallone had a bit of a lull in the early 2000s, but between the Expendables franchise and fresh Rocky and Rambo entries, he’s riding high again, so his turn to TV is hardly the move of an aging actor clinging to relevancy. In fact, it’s a project the actor has been coveting for a long time.

In an interview with USA Today, Stallone said:

Stallone’s first big stab at the world of organized crime is as original as the genre can get these days. Far from his big city beat, Manfredi is forced to trade bodegas for general stores and slick sports cars for battered pickups.

“I wanted to grab Scorsese by the shoulders and go: ‘What are you waiting for? You mean I don’t look thuggish enough?’ I made this a quest: ‘Someday, I’m going to play this Mafioso type, which I can embody quite authentically.’ “Finally, it happens. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

Tulsa King: Cast and Crew

When any media mobster/general felon strikes out on his own, he has to assemble a crew. We’re accustomed to said lead character pulling “talent” from the local pool halls and edgy dives. In Tulsa King, Manfredi is forced to look for skill in an unusual and unfamiliar place.

But every town has its seedy characters, so Manfredi seeks them out and finds them to fill his roster. The cast includes Martin Starr (This is the End, Spider-Man: No Way Home) as marijuana dispensary owner Bodhi, Jay Will (Evil, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as cab driver Tyson and Garrett Hedlund (Reservation Dogs) as bartender Mitch Keller.

Back in the big city, the new generation of toughs includes Max Casella (Ray Donovan, The Good Fight) as Armand Truisi, Vincent Piazza (Boardwalk Empire) as Vince Antonacci, and Domenick Lombardozzi (The Irishman, Daredevil) as Don Charles “Chickie” Invernizzi. The cast is filled out with Andrea Savage (Bob’s Burgers, The Goldbergs) as Stacy Beale and Dana Delany as Margaret.

Terence Winters, the director, writer, and producer of Tulsa King has been “in the family” for a long time with some pretty high-profile gangster series. This includes The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, both of which he served as a writer and producer; he is also the creator of the latter. This means that Tulsa King brings together two very savvy veterans of their respective craft to take on this fresh approach to the mob epic.

How to Watch

As we mentioned, Tulsa King is streaming now on Paramount+. The series landed on November 13, so you won’t have much catching up to do to get in on Dwight Manfredi’s exploits.

The mafia story has been done nearly to death, with a long heyday of the ’70s-’90s and classics like The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Casino, among countless others. They’re usually eye-rollers now; “here we go again.” Don’t get us wrong, it’s a great genre, with some notable recent entries, but overall it feels like it’s been tapped dry. But all signs are pointing toward Sylvester Stallone and company coming at the mob from a clever new angle.