Television series

Tulsa King

Name: Tulsa King
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime
Released: 2022
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jay Will, Martin Starr, Garrett Hedlund, Chris Caldovino

Sylvester Stallone plays a Mafia capo dumped in Oklahoma after 25 years inside, ordered to build a criminal empire from scratch in a state that's never heard of him. It's less thriller than fish-out-of-water crime comedy — slow, funny, oddly tender — running entirely on Stallone's swagger and the culture-clash jokes between old-world mob rules and cowboy-hat Tulsa. Comfort viewing with an occasional body count.

TVMaze rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a grizzled old wiseguy being underestimated in a strange new place, and like your crime stories with dry jokes and a gruff, fatherly warmth rather than grim, gritty realism.

Skip it if you want a tight, relentlessly plotted thriller or prefer your mob drama bleak and tense; its gags and easygoing rhythm will feel too light.

What it asks of you: Around forty minutes an episode across four seasons, a long haul at an unhurried pace, where banter and character carry scenes more than plot velocity.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Sopranos1999

The show that invented the modern mob-boss-in-therapy template Tulsa King riffs on — Tony Soprano's domestic anxieties and criminal ruthlessness sit in the same uneasy chair Dwight does.

But Six seasons of slow-burn psychological drama; if you want Stallone-style pulp fun, this is heavier and much darker.

Justified2010

Same fish-out-of-water energy but flipped — a lawman in hostile territory instead of a gangster, with the same twangy charm, quotable banter and simmering violence.

But It's a procedural at heart, more case-of-the-week than empire-building saga.

Fargo2014

Anthology crime drama that mines the same vein of outsiders colliding with Midwestern normalcy for pitch-black comedy and sudden brutality.

But Each season is a new cast and story — no continuing crew to fall for.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Tulsa King

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Freshman1990

Stallone is doing something similar to Brando here — a screen legend playing gently against his own tough-guy myth for laughs. Both let you watch a genre icon wink at his own reputation while still being genuinely dangerous when the scene calls for it.

Marlon Brando parodies his own Godfather legend as an aging don running a bizarre criminal enterprise — funnier and stranger than you'd expect from that casting.

But Broader, sillier comedy than Tulsa King; the humor leans absurdist farce rather than character-driven banter.

Peaky Blinders2013

If you like watching a criminal build an empire from scratch through sheer force of personality, this is the stylish, operatic British version.

But Period setting and thick Birmingham accents take some adjusting to; less comedy, more tragedy.

Boardwalk Empire2010

Empire-building, Prohibition-era mob politics with the scale and patience Tulsa King only gestures at — same DNA, much bigger budget.

But Slower pace and a sprawling cast; it rewards patience Tulsa King doesn't demand.

Get Shorty2017

A loan shark trying to go straight in an unfamiliar industry — the same fish-out-of-water crime comedy tone, just swapping Tulsa for Hollywood.

But Ran only three seasons and never found a big audience; tonally uneven in places.

Animal Kingdom2016

A crime family built on charisma and loyalty tested constantly — sun-baked, morally gray, with a magnetic elder running the show.

But More soap opera intensity and less humor than Tulsa King's easy charm.

GoodFellas1990

The mob movie every other mob story is quoting, including this one — the swagger, the voiceover confidence, the sudden violence.

But It's a two-and-a-half-hour classic, not an ongoing hangout show; a very different kind of commitment.

Ozark2017

Another outsider forced to build a criminal operation in unfamiliar territory, though here the tone turns cold and paranoid rather than funny.

But Grim and relentless where Tulsa King is breezy; almost no comic relief.

The Righteous Gemstones2019

Swap the Mafia for a megachurch and you get the same engine — a swaggering patriarch, a ragtag crew of loyal misfits, and an empire built on charm, threats and bad decisions, just wearing robes instead of tracksuits.

A crime-family power struggle in the unlikely costume of a televangelist dynasty — same empire-building comedy, filthier jokes, even more shameless characters.

But Broad, vulgar comedy that leans harder into farce than Tulsa King's grounded charm; not for anyone squeamish about religious satire.

A Prophet2009

Both are about a man building a criminal crew from scratch in a place he doesn't belong — here it's a French prison instead of Oklahoma. Same mentorship structure, same slow accumulation of power, but played dead serious instead of for laughs.

The bleaker, more serious cousin of Dwight's story — a young inmate mentored into running a criminal network from inside prison walls, subtitled and unforgettable.

But No jokes, no charm offensive — a cold, unflinching French prison drama with subtitles, a real tonal 180 from Tulsa King.