Fact Check: Is Tulsa King series based on a true story? Explained

Tulsa King is a crime drama series on Paramount+ starring Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi. The show revolves around him as a New York mafia boss forced to go to Tulsa after his 25-year prison sentence. Dwight starts to build his criminal empire and assembles a whole crew for the job.

Season 1 of the show gained immense popularity, with season 2 premiering on September 15, 2024, on Paramount+. Many fans have also pondered the storyline, wondering if the series stems from true events. However, Tulsa King is a fictional storyline and is not based on any real historical event or figures.

The show was conceptualized by Taylor Sheridan, who has previously spearheaded works like Yellowstone, 1923, and Mayor of Kingstown. The official summary for Tulsa King reads:

"Following his release from prison, Mafia capo Dwight "The General" Manfredi is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he builds a new criminal empire with a group of unlikely characters."

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How did Taylor Sheridan come up with the plot idea for Tulsa King?

Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi in a still from the show (Image via @tulsaking / Instagram)

According to an interview for The Hollywood Reporter from November 10, 2022, Taylor Sheridan wrote the script for the show's pilot in one day. Sheridan's co-producer, David Glasser, explained that they wrote the script with Sylvester Stallone in mind as the gangster.

They pitched the script to the actor within the next week, and Stallone signed on. During the interview, Stallone's contributions were also mentioned by showrunner Terence Winter:

"With Stallone, you're getting a writer, a director, a producer, an editor. He's got great ideas ... and he’s been doing this for a really long time at the highest possible level. He’s also been in his own skin for so long that he knows what works and knows what he does well."

While the series' storyline is fictional, the show contains much research about actual crime families and how they operate in the real world. In an interview with Variety on June 6, 2023, costume designer Suzanne McCabe mentioned the inspiration behind the series' wardrobe:

"I looked at the Gambino crime family, the Franzese family, and all the usual ones that you always saw in the papers back then" she added, "John Gotti was definitely a big one"

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Who are the cast members of Tulsa King Season 2 airing now?

Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi in a still from the show (Image via @tulsaking / Instagram)

The main characters featured in season 2 of the show include:

• Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi, also known as The General
• Andrea Savage as Stacy Beale
• Martin Starr as Lawrence Geigerman, also known as Bodhi
• Jay Will as Tyson Mitchell
• Max Casella as Armand Truisi, also known as Manny
• Domenick Lombardozzi as Don Charles Invernizzi, also known as Chickie
• Vincent Piazza as Vince Antonacci
• Garrett Hedlund as Mitch Keller
• Dana Delany as Margaret Devereaux
• Tatiana Zappardino as Tina Manfredi-Grieger
• Annabella Sciorra as Joanne Manfredi

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Audiences can watch Tulsa King streaming online via Paramount+, with new episodes releasing on Sundays for the second season of the series. At the time of writing, two episodes have already been released on the platform.