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Tulsa King renewed for Season 4 as Winter returns
Paramount+ has officially renewed Tulsa King for a fourth season, a move that cements the series as a steady pillar in Taylor Sheridan’s expanding crime-drama stable. The renewal arrives just ahead of Season 3’s premiere and brings a notable staffing shift: acclaimed writer-producer Terence Winter is set to return to the series in a senior creative role.
Season 4 comes on the heels of reports that lead star Sylvester Stallone negotiated a deal in late 2024 to remain with the show through at least another season. Stallone’s gravelly charm and old-school mobster mien have been central to Tulsa King’s identity, anchoring a show that blends violent crime, fish-out-of-water comedy, and family loyalty.
What changed behind the scenes
Winter, who created the early tone of Tulsa King and served as original showrunner and executive producer for Season 1, left the show before Season 2 but later returned in a writing and producing capacity. He sat out Season 3 to develop a separate series at FX about mobster Sammy “The Bull” Gravano. For Season 4, Winter will be credited as head writer and executive producer, giving him renewed oversight of the scripts and narrative arc.
Season 3 showrunner Dave Erickson will not return to run Season 4 — he’s focusing attention on another Sheridan project, Mayor of Kingstown. Showrunner turnover is common in serialized streaming dramas as creators juggle multiple series, but the return of Winter signals a desire to recalibrate the creative direction while keeping Sheridan and Stallone intimately involved.
Cast, storylines and spinoffs
Season 3’s official logline teases rising stakes: Dwight (Stallone) expands his Tulsa empire and antagonizes the Dunmires, an entrenched old-money family that challenges everything he’s built. Season 3’s ensemble includes Martin Starr, Annabella Sciorra, Neal McDonough, Robert Patrick, Bella Heathcote, Vincent Piazza and more — a roster that reinforces the show’s mixture of character actors and high-profile guest stars.
One of the bigger franchise moves is Samuel L. Jackson’s guest arc. Jackson appears in several Season 3 episodes, playing a former prison associate of Dwight’s who ultimately returns to New Orleans inspired to build his own criminal foothold. That storyline is the springboard for a greenlit spinoff, NOLA King, with Jackson set to headline and production reportedly eyed for early 2026.
NOLA King has already seen its own creative reshuffle: Erickson had been attached as showrunner but stepped away, and no replacement had been announced at the time of publication.
Industry context and comparisons
Tulsa King arrives in a landscape dominated by prestige crime dramas and star-driven streaming fare. Its blend of old-guard mob tropes (think Sopranos-adjacent moral complexity) with Sheridan’s contemporary frontier-of-power themes (echoes of Yellowstone and Mayor of Kingstown) makes it part of a larger trend: cinematic, serialized crime stories built as franchise ecosystems. The Stallone–Sheridan pairing recalls other actor-creator collaborations that use franchise spin-offs to extend world-building — a strategy streaming platforms favor for subscriber retention.
Behind the scenes and fan reaction
Fans have been vocal about both Stallone’s performance and the show’s tonal shifts. Online communities praise the chemistry among the ensemble while noting occasional unevenness when showrunners change. Industry observers also point to the practicalities of scheduling and talent commitments: securing a big-name star like Stallone for multiple seasons requires contract stability, which the new deal in 2024 appears to have delivered.
Cinema historian Marko Jensen offers perspective: "Tulsa King combines familiar crime-drama signposts with a restless modern style. Terence Winter's return should steady the storytelling without losing the series' rough-edged appeal." His view underscores how creative leadership can shape serialized drama at this scale.
What to expect next
Paramount+ will roll out Season 3 on Sept. 21, setting the table for a renewed Season 4 under Winter’s head-writing stewardship. With NOLA King moving toward production and a stacked ensemble in place, Tulsa King is evolving from a single-season success into a small franchise — one that mixes star power, serialized plotting, and cross-series ambition.
Producers on Tulsa King include Sheridan, Stallone, David C. Glasser and others, with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios producing and Paramount Global Content Distribution handling distribution. As the series continues, watch for tightened writing rhythms under Winter and the gradual building of the Tulsa/NOLA criminal universe.
Concluding note: Tulsa King’s Season 4 renewal and Terence Winter’s return speak to the show’s resilience and the streaming era’s appetite for interconnected crime dramas. Viewers who enjoy character-driven, serialized crime stories should find plenty to anticipate.
Source: variety
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