30/33
Non-character: Where do you worship?
Tale
After being released from prison after 25 years, New York Mafia boss Dwight “The General” Manfredi is deported to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sylvester Stallone’s first starring role in a television series. Dwight 'The General' Manfredi: I don’t really go to church. The opening credits sequence shows various photographic and painted views and Oklahoma landmarks set against the New York landscape: A statue of a Sioux Indian chief named "Touch the Clouds" wearing a War Bonnet and Bone Choker necklace (breastplate) placed on the Brooklyn BridgeA statue of the Golden Driller placed on the Statue of LibertyRoute 66 Western Gateway Arch placed on Major Manhattan “Avenue”.
Featured on CBS News Sunday Morning: Episode #457 (2022)
In New York City, the borough of Manhattan, which are a series of numbered “Avenues”; intersected by smaller numbered streets. I thought this would be an entertaining show. We’ve come to think of everything Stallone is a comedy these days, and Tulsa King has a lot of humor. But Taylor Sheridan isn’t going to create a simple parody of a mob story and use Stallone as a joke and punchline.
The characters are genuinely likable throughout
The show has promising depth despite its light-hearted premise, about a former big-time gangster forced to make a new start in a new city after a long prison sentence. Comedy ensues as a New York gangster finds his way to Tulsa to establish a turf war using his “old world” background. While it’s not unusual to root for the “bad” guy as the main character, his straightforwardness and old-world common sense values appeal to those of us looking for something refreshing in the midst of today’s social nonsense. The irony of the message is that it takes a villain who bows down to no one to break through and expose the low-level social hypocrisy.
Stallone gives a great performance
This is the same formula that made Yellowstone so successful, and Sheridan knows that this is what so many of us want. Before he became a caricature in his later roles that ran the Rocky and Rambo franchises into the ground, his acting and screen presence created those iconic roles. It’s good to see him back on screen in a role that seems perfect for him, and utilizes that brash persona to add depth to his character and performance rather than undermine it. Overall, a highly entertaining show that I’m looking forward to and an excellent addition to the Paramount+ portfolio.
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