Tulsa King

Fans of Sheridan's prior films and series as well as fans of Stallone will feel right at home with Tulsa King. It's the kind of show that knows its audience and isn't trying to woo over any naysayers. Some of it may come off as a little wooden, but much like its central character, the intrigue never fades.

Whether or not it can reach the heights of Taylor Sheridan or Terence Winter's past successes remains to be seen. For now, though, Tulsa King promises to be a royally good time – for fans of comedy and mob drama alike.

While it’s mainstream fare when compared to such sublime mafia fish-out-of-water comedy dramas like Get Shorty and Barry, it’s entertaining, nonetheless. Winter, of Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos renown, is on home ground with his playful script and the series doesn’t waste any time setting out its stall.

All of this conforms to the Stallone playbook, although the premise—the DIY organizing of organized crime—is an intriguing one, as is the Rip Van Winkle aspect of Dwight’s emergence from incarceration. ... I’m sorry there were only two episodes to watch, because for all the show’s hiccups, I wanted to see another.

When “Tulsa King” coasts on its winking, knowing comedy, it’s gangbusters. ... The show around him occasionally struggles to keep up—Garrett Hedlund, Dana Delaney, and Annabella Sciorra are barely present, despite occupying significant space in the credits and press materials. But it’s worth sticking around to see what role they’ll play in Sly’s most interesting ride into the sunset.

Stallone desperately needs collaborators who understand how to get the most out of him. He finds that here.

The biggest question mark hovering over Tulsa King at this point is how deep and dark it’s capable of going, and whether Stallone (an actor who has always had a pretty tight grasp over his star persona) might be pushed outside his comfort zone into some truly vulnerable territory. The potential is there.

The challenge for “Tulsa King” will be to expand beyond the “What a great idea!” stage. Right now it’s trying to be a whole lot of things at once: mob comedy; fish-out-of-water story; family drama (Dwight wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter); small-time-crooks yarn. It has plenty of time to make room for all of that, and the dynamite premise and talent pool isn’t going anywhere.

Through the two episodes given to critics, it piques just enough interest to merit another episode or two, and if it ends there, so be it; it won’t be time poorly spent. Like Tulsa itself, it may not be the most appealing destination in the world, but come in with the right attitude, and you’ll have more fun than you expected.

Culture-clash goofiness is frequently the order of the day, all of it elevated by its headliner ... Such an approach serves Stallone and the series well, its joviality alleviating the story’s clichéd elements. It’s not yet clear if Sheridan intends for levity to be the proceedings’ driving force, or merely an embellishment for a formulaic tale of a bad man making good in a foreign environment. Yet given that Stallone is a natural at being not only commanding but sardonic and self-deprecating, leaning into the lighthearted certainly seems like the most promising path forward.

The show is at its best when it steps away from the criminal plotlines and lets Dwight, who expresses some regret over his career path, show his softer side.

Tulsa King is far from perfect. Things happen in a sitcommy way — Dwight walks into Bodhi's dispensary and a few minutes later is running the place — and supporting characters are underdeveloped. But the two episodes sent to critics are a very promising start.

“Tulsa King” leans too hard into obvious jokes about Dwight’s age and Dwight’s cluelessness about modern tech. ... But, “Tulsa King” benefits from a few surprise plot turns, Stallone’s comic timing and a winning supporting cast, particularly the aforementioned Savage and Martin Starr (“Freaks and Geeks”) as the poor pot shop owner Dwight sets his sights on.

Once the newness of Tulsa wears off for Dwight, he’ll need to find fresh comedic sources, and there’s no telling what those might be — or if the series will simply lose its loose, laidback vibes altogether. But for now, “Tulsa King” is a much-needed light amid Sheridan’s dark universe — and much of it is thanks to its star.

Tulsa ranks as another sturdy chapter in the volume of prestigious, showy 21st century antiheroism.

I’m not convinced “Tulsa King” can avoid the diminishing returns that tend to plague a TV series where the audience is asked to tag along, waiting and waiting for the endgame to unfurl. But there’s plenty like here as well, including the show’s commentary on the barriers that exist for anyone reentering society after a long stint in prison.

It’s a role and a series that has clearly been tailor-made for Stallone, playing to his particular brand of mealy-mouthed charisma. ... It also doesn’t have anywhere near the humble, world-wearied power of Stallone’s work in the Creed films, but with his slick one-liners and gruff deadpan, he manages to carry the entire series on the back of his imposing frame.

It knows exactly what it has to work with and doesn’t threaten to frighten anyone with innovative tricks or boundary-pushing.

A dramedy that is implausible, corny and yet quite enjoyable. Tulsa King will win no prizes for nuance or plot. ... It is watchable, despite many things not adding up.

The second episode of Tulsa King gave us hope that the series can be an enjoyable series with a bit of a sense of a humor about its fish-out-of-water conceit and that Stallone can turn down the Sly schtick. But there were still a lot of issues that make us think that the show could end up being as nuanced as a plate of spaghetti topped with ketchup.

“Tulsa King” is adequate, semi-engaging, mildly charming, somewhat funny, and feels like it has potential, but mostly feels—so far—like just another Taylor Sheridan series about crime, the complications of their extended and found families, and the territories that people find themselves defending and living on, either by need or circumstance.

The Tulsa location is distinctive. Stallone is never not interesting, so the best moments are his quiet ones. ... The question for Tulsa King going forward is whether it can complicate Dwight's archaic act or sanctify him as a boomer bull in a millennial china shop. Right now, it's a frictionless fantasy about making instant friends, attracting younger women, and instantly knowing everything about the legal pot industry.

A slim vehicle for Sylvester Stallone that’s a little too overtly designed as a mobster fish out of water.

Entirely too conventional and workmanlike to be a remarkable series. ... In “Tulsa King,” Stallone inhabits a role clearly conceived with him in mind, and it makes all the difference. “Tulsa King” is a clumsy misfire, but when the show works, it works precisely because of Stallone’s charming, if characteristically mannered, performance. ... Stallone [is] oddly watchable in a show that usually isn’t.

On almost every level, it hits the most obvious of genre beats, resorts to the most obvious of punchlines. If there are absolutely hints of a potentially likable series here, anchored by a nicely self-effacing performance from Stallone, most of what’s currently on display is reminiscent of either a middlebrow TNT series from 2010 or an elongated version of a movie Stallone might have made between Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.

The dialogue is what can politely be described as “basic”. ... It’s an easy watch, and Stallone is always fun on screen, but this could have been so much better.