Tulsa King Season 3 TV Review: Sylvester Stallone is back with Samuel L Jackson along for the ride

Plot: As Dwight’s empire expands, so do his enemies and the risks to his crew. Now, he faces his most dangerous adversaries in Tulsa yet: the Dunmires, a powerful old-money family that doesn’t play by old-world rules, forcing Dwight to fight for everything he’s built and protect his family.

Review: The return of Sylvester Stallone to Tulsa King was a foregone conclusion after the cliffhanger ending of the second season, but there was always a chance that the series could have fallen off in quality as many shows tend to do the further along they go. Thankfully, the third season of Tulsa King avoids the pitfalls of crime-based series and picks up the pace by introducing even more character to the Oklahoma-centric world of Dwight Manfredi and his growing array of legitimate businesses that come into conflict with the organized crime bosses from Tulsa and the surrounding area. With the introduction of Robert Patrick and the return of Frank Grillo, Tulsa King is as good as it was last season and with a fourth season already greenlit, viewers are in store for a lot more to come.

Judging by the collective millions who watch his show, Taylor Sheridan could easily put any of his series on autopilot and let them rehash the same storylines over and over again. It is exciting to see that Sheridan and Terence Winter have put aside their disagreements that created tension in prior seasons which has allowed Tulsa King to continue to shine in a manner distinct from Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown, and Landman. After being carted off with a bag over his head at the end of last season, the premiere episode of this run shows us who took Dwight into custody and it lays out the conflicts that loom over the season. But, that is not necessarily the driving element of this season’s narrative which finds Bill Bevilaqua (Frank Grillo) more present than he was last season. While only the first six episodes were made available for this review, it is evident that the creative squabbles from last season are gone as the stories flow far more organically. Last season saw Dwight fighting ATF charges for the first half of the season before Grillo and Neal McDonough were able to face off with Dwight. There is no such delay this time as the plot picks up right from the outset.

The biggest addition to the cast this season is Robert Patrick. Patrick was most recently seen in James Gunn’s Peacemaker as a racist villain with an abusive dynamic with his son. Here, Patrick plays Jeremiah, an abrupt and verbally abusive father who comes into conflict with Dwight and his crew as they vie for control of a lucrative bourbon distillery and a liquor known as “The Fifty”. By having Dwight shift from weed to bourbon is not huge stretch and fits into the legacy of his mob connections, but it also broadens the scope of Tulsa King‘s narrative and allows the ensemble to stretch in different directions. Mitch (Garret Hedlund) has the key connection through his old girlfriend Cleo (Bella Heathcote) while Bodhi (Martin Starr) and Tyson (Jay Will) get to interact with other business ventures introduced in prior seasons. With Sylvester Stallone still at the center of Dwight’s burgeoning empire, Tulsa King is starting to shift a bit from a fish-out-of-water comedy into something a little bit different.

While the trailers for Tulsa King teased Samuel L. Jackson’s appearance as Dwight’s old colleague, Russell Lee Washington, his multi-episode arc is not a part of the six episodes I have seen. Jackson’s role is an introduction for the already announced spin-off NOLA King which will present another departure from the Yellowstone formula, something that Tulsa King has embraced fully. While the series started out a bit more comedic and shifted dramatic in season two, the third season tonally stays fairly serious but keeps a sense of humor throughout. There are subplots and tangetial storylines this season that feel shoe-horned in to keep the tone of the series lighter, but they detract more than anything. Tulsa King works best when Stallone is leading the way and as the legendary actor gets older, he will only have so much ability to lead an ongoing series. I appreciate the return of Dana Delaney, Max Casella, Vincent Piazza, and more, but it feels like there is not enough room in Tulsa for everyone to stay involved into the next season.

This season boasts three episodes co-written by Stallone including the first, fifth, and eighth chapters as well as one penned by co-showrynner Dave Erickson. There are no episodes scripted by Terence Winter, but the recent announcement that he will be in charge of the fourth season bodes well for his return to writing duties. The array of talent on board this series is great, behind the scenes and in front of the camera, but it is evident that the series is adding more faces than it is taking away. Long-form storytelling always requires fresh actors and characters to join the fray and I worry that Tulsa King is spending too much superficial time with secondary and tertiary characters that it will not be able to sustain itself for multiple additional seasons. But, that is a problem for another day.

Tulsa King is a lot more fun than any other Taylor Sheridan series and is tailor-made for Sylvester Stallone. The action is furious and bloody, but also balanced with a smart sense of humor. I hope that the final episodes of this season close out the storyline strongly and are more than just a backdoor pilot for NOLA King. Judging by the six episodes that kick off the season, this is the most balanced season of Tulsa King yet. That does not mean it is a masterpiece and still suffers from some weak subplots and underdeveloped supporting players, but those are minor and do not prevent enjoying this series as a violently funny work of escapism that will keep you tuning in week to week.

The third season of Tulsa King premieres on September 21st on Paramount+.