From the runaway success of the Western franchise Yellowstone to gritty crime dramas like Tulsa King, Taylor Sheridan has dominated streaming television. Although his shows span different genres and histories, each story shares commonalities around complex power struggles that draw the audience in.

With his new 13-part TV series, Marshals, already breaking viewership records, Taylor Sheridan knows how to keep the fans watching. He has perfected the TV shared universe with Yellowstone. Now, Tulsa King is testing that knowledge and becoming its own full franchise, starting with the spinoff, Frisco King.

Tulsa King Is Becoming A New Taylor Sheridan Franchise With Frisco King

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Frisco King expands the criminal empire directly connected to Dwight Manfredi’s time in prison. If the new series succeeds, Tulsa King has real spinoff potential. It is a smart move to have Frisco King be the next Tulsa King story, as it isn’t just a random spinoff created off the back of a show’s success. The series sees the return of Jackson’s Russell Lee Washington Jr., who made his debut in Tulsa King season 3.

With Russell’s history already closely connected to Dwight’s prison past, there is an established depth to the story that makes fans of Tulsa King invested. This gives Frisco King the freedom to drop into Russell Lee Washington Jr.’s life as he builds his own criminal empire, while still remaining part of the broader Tulsa King world.

Even if their characters spend their time in different series, Manfredi and Washington’s shared history keeps the stories intertwined. Dwight’s Tulsa operation and Russell’s organization will run separately, while the story can occasionally provide crossover opportunities. Recent creative shake-ups also show how seriously Paramount+ views this project.

With showrunner and pilot writer Dave Erickson exiting the show, it is confirmed that Taylor Sheridan is writing all eight episodes of Frisco King’s first season. Sheridan’s direct involvement helps ensure the spinoff stays as a true extension of Tulsa King, rather than a loosely connected offshoot. That consistency has been an essential part of Yellowstone’s shared universe success and has already begun for Frisco King. Sheridan even changed the title from NOLA King, and with it, the show’s location.

Tulsa King Has Even More Spinoff Potential Than Yellowstone

The success of Yellowstone showed that Taylor Sheridan understands how to build a television franchise. The flagship series spawned multiple companion shows, including 1883 and 1923, which explored earlier generations of the Dutton family.

Those prequels demonstrated how expanding a universe can deepen the mythology of a central story. Instead of simply continuing Yellowstone indefinitely, Sheridan used new shows to explore different eras, perspectives, and characters within the same world. If Tulsa King’s expansion follows the Yellowstone playbook, there is no reason it will not be successful. The original Yellowstone series succeeded not only because of its story but because it created a world that audiences wanted to explore further.

In fact, Tulsa King may have even greater spinoff potential. With crime dramas – especially mob family storylines – having an interconnected web of characters, the franchise possibilities multiply quickly. Unlike Yellowstone, which focuses heavily on one family’s ranch dynasty, Tulsa King revolves around the broader ecosystem of organized crime. Different cities, crime families, and factions constantly intersect. That structure provides endless possibilities, and Frisco King already proves that the story can travel beyond Tulsa.

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Every Recurring Taylor Sheridan Actor In Tulsa King

The talented actors who appear alongside Sylvester Stallone in Tulsa King often have roles in Yellowstone or Taylor Sheridan’s other shows.

Every ally or rival that has been introduced in the series so far has the potential to anchor a new story. This approach creates a franchise built around Dwight’s extended criminal network. Russell Lee Washington Jr.’s connection to Dwight’s 25-year incarceration provides numerous opportunities by itself.

The franchise can branch off to explore countless characters from that period, both in a modern timeline and a prequel setting. Many of those individuals could have built their own criminal operations after release. Any one of them could appear in Tulsa King, or Frisco King, and eventually a separate spinoff.

This creative take would mirror the way Yellowstone explored different locations and timelines within its universe. Tulsa King has the added advantage of being built around a life that is defined by networks and expansion. There is also precedent for mob-focused franchises. From classic gangster stories to modern mob dramas, crime shows have always brought in audiences.

The discussion of making Tulsa King a multi-show franchise is not new, either. In an interview with IndieWire back in 2023, Paramount+’s chief programming officer, Tanya Giles, discussed the potential to expand Tulsa King. She stated that they could “take this valuable IP and turn anything into a franchise because we believe there’s a world of storytelling to be told.”

Of All Taylor Sheridan’s Non-Yellowstone Shows, Tulsa King Is Best-Suited For A Franchise

Brian Douglas / Paramount+

Taylor Sheridan has created several successful television series outside the Yellowstone universe. However, not all of them lend themselves equally well to franchise expansion. One major show that could have been an option is Mayor of Kingstown, starring Jeremy Renner. The series explores the power structures surrounding a prison town in Michigan, focusing on the McLusky family’s role as mediators between prisons, law enforcement, and criminal organizations.

The story is heavily tied to the town itself and the institutions within it. Expanding that premise into multiple spinoffs would be difficult. It is also hampered by the fact that Mayor of Kingstown is being canceled by Paramount after season 5. Tulsa King, by contrast, has been approved for a fourth season and is built around a character whose story can move anywhere. Dwight Manfredi is not tied to a single institution or location; his identity as a mob boss allows him to operate across cities and criminal networks.

Another factor is audience reception. Tulsa King has been widely embraced by viewers, earning strong audience numbers. That reception provides the foundational requirements needed to build a successful franchise. While Mayor of Kingstown developed a strong following, it was slow to gain the same audience reception.

Much of this comes down to the tonal difference between the two shows. Mayor of Kingstown is consistently gritty, focusing on systemic corruption and the brutal realities of incarceration. While critically compelling, that dramatic weight makes it harder to create multiple interconnected series that audiences will want to regularly watch.

Tulsa King, on the other hand, has a lighter tone. It blends fish-out-of-water humor with crime drama. The series’ mix of wit, charisma, and mob storytelling quickly turned Tulsa King into one of Paramount+’s biggest original series. Stallone’s performance brings an old-school gangster charm that makes the world more accessible. It also offers a chance for similar characters to emerge.

By introducing Russell Lee Washington Jr. through the main show, Sheridan provided a new intrigue for audiences outside of Tulsa, establishing a direct narrative bridge between Tulsa King and Frisco King. If the spinoff succeeds, it will prove that Tulsa King can function as a multi-series franchise, much like Yellowstone. Additional Tulsa King projects could follow the same blueprint.

Multiple crime dramas can exist within Sheridan’s crime universe, occasionally intersecting with each other. For audiences, that kind of interconnected storytelling creates a deeper investment in the world. For Paramount+, it creates a sustainable franchise anchored by recognizable characters and consistent themes. In other words, Tulsa King has everything needed to become Taylor Sheridan’s next great franchise.

Source: IndieWire

Release Date

November 13, 2022

Network

Paramount+

Showrunner

Dave Erickson, Terence Winter

Directors

Allen Coulter, Benjamin Semanoff, David Semel, Guy Ferland, Joshua Marston, Kevin Dowling, Lodge Kerrigan, Jim McKay

Writers

Joseph Riccobene, David Flebotte, William Schmidt, Taylor Elmore, Tom Sierchio, Regina Corrado, Stephen Scaia, Terence Winter