A majorTulsa Kingcreative clarifies Taylor Sheridan’s role in the series.Tulsa Kingis a crime drama series created by Sheridan that saw Terrence Winter as the showrunner for season 1, but would see a less traditional showrunner structure in season 2 after Winter stepped down from the role.Tulsa Kingfeatures a leading cast including Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, Chris Caldovino, Dashiell Connery, and Tatiana Zappardino.Tulsa Kingseason 2will premiere on Sunday, September 15.
Speaking withThe Hollywood Reporter, Winter discusses Sheridan’s involvement in the series. According to the former showrunner,Sheridan was most involved in the pilot forTulsa King, which the creator wrote. After that point, Sheridan supposedly gave Winter more free rein of the series, saying “Take it and run with it.” After that point, Sheridan was fairly hands-off, and Winter says he “literally only met Taylor, in person, one time.” From what the showrunner has heard, Sheridan does like the show. Check out the full quote from Winter below:
Taylor wrote the original version of the pilot, gave it to me, and said, “Take it and run with it.” And I did. I literally only met Taylor, in person, one time — and that was two-and-a-half years ago. We just went off and did the show with Sly and I hear Taylor likes it. He’s certainly got enough on his plate for him to worry about what we’re doing over in Tulsa.
The Tulsa King Showrunner Status Explained
Winter Stepped Down After Season 1
Winter’s description of getting massive creative liberty overTulsa Kingcomes as somewhat of a surprise given what happened with the show’s leadership. FollowingTulsa Kingseason 1’s airing in 2022, it was announced in February 2023 thatWinter would be stepping down as showrunner, who cites scheduling conflicts. However, Winter’s recent statement implies Sheridan entrusted him with a lot of control overTulsa Kingafter the pilot was written.
Another element of Winter’s statement is the assertion that Sheridan has “got enough on his plate,” leading him to be more hands-off forTulsa King. It is certainly true thatSheridan has a busy slate. This fall alone sees the release ofYellowstoneseason 5, part 2as well asLandmanseason 1, both of which Sheridan created.He is also coming off ofMayor of Kingstownseason 3 and will seeLionessseason 2arrive later this fall. With all of Sheridan’s projects, it’s not a surprise he isn’t available to be fully involved with production on all of them.
Whatever that meant for Sheridan’s level of involvement inTulsa King, it is in good hands. Earning a season 2 renewal after only 3 episodes aired shows the faith Paramount+ has in the series. After stepping down, Winter remained on the series as a writer and executive producer. WhileTulsa Kingmay no longer be steered in whatever direction Winter wants it to go in, the creative that helped bringTulsa Kingseason 1 to success is still deeply involved in the series.
Tulsa King
Cast
Tulsa King follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi, who, after 25 years in prison, is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, by his boss. Faced with the possibility of betrayal, he assembles a crew of unlikely characters to establish a criminal empire in unfamiliar territory.
