The third season of Tulsa King feels like more of the same for the Paramount+ series. Sylvester Stallone’s Dwight Manfredi has again run afoul of the law, and is again trying to keep his head above water while still pursuing his criminal interests. Stallone—who co-wrote the Season 3 premiere with Dave Erickson—is still unquestionably front and center. This is Dwight’s world, and everyone else is just living in it. In fact, Stallone seems more comfortable in the role than ever before.

As has become the process for this show, Tulsa King Season 3 largely clears the table, moving aside characters who no longer have a purpose (or have died) while introducing new ones for Dwight and company to tango with. The major addition is another TV and movie icon: Robert Patrick (Peacemaker), whose previous history working with Stallone comes out so well in their scenes together. Patrick has played plenty of memorable bad guys over his career, so Tulsa King feels like a natural fit for him. His character surprisingly also keeps the connection between Dwight and New York active, when the show had the opportunity to focus entirely on Tulsa after the events of Season 2.

The storyline of Season 3 feels familiar in many ways. Just like Dwight decided to expand his empire in Season 2, he’s doing the same in Season 3—simply with a new business. Season 2 antagonists Frank Grillo and Neal McDonough are back for more, plus Kevin Pollak arrives as a scene-chewing federal agent who loves his ability to mess with Dwight. The role of Agent Musso is perfect for Pollak; he’s smarmy, self-assured and verbose, the right foil to Stallone’s quiet toughness as Dwight. His presence makes Dwight’s latest legal issue more exciting than the last one, because now the government has personality.

Tulsa King has always boiled down to throwing new opponents into a prize fight with Stallone, and the casting in Season 3 is the show’s best yet. The show isn’t shaking up its story; the way it finds excitement is by bringing in actors who can make all of the expected arguments and actual fights interesting. Seeing Patrick and Pollak effortlessly slide into the Tulsa King world creates anticipation for the brawl between Team Dwight and everyone else that’s always coming.

But for all the crime drama, the biggest spark in Tulsa King Season 3 comes from the found family Dwight has collected in Tulsa, and often in scenes that have nothing to do with the main plot. Garrett Hedlund gets to show off more of his comedy chops in the scenes where Mitch Keller works at the car dealership that he got into last season. The audience gets to learn more about Mitch beyond his association with the Manfredi family, through the arriival of another new character. It’s the kind of depth that was hinted at in the Mitch and Tina scenes from Season 2, but that never played out thanks to Tina’s departure.

Martin Starr’s Bodhi Geigerman is still understandably disgruntled at everything, and Jay Will’s character Tyson Mitchell has completed his transition from driver to gangster (or so he thinks). A funny sequence from the first episode involves Tyson refusing to be seen in Bodhi’s car because he thinks it’ll make him appear uncool. Tyson is Tulsa King‘s most underrated character, who wants desperately to belong but doesn’t realize that the fact that he doesn’t entirely is what makes him special. And Starr has one of his best scenes in the entire series early on.

Everything that viewers come to Tulsa King for—fights of all kinds, scheming and Stallone being the toughest guy in the room—is here. Plus, audiences already know that Season 3 is planting the seeds for a spinoff that stars Samuel L. Jackson, one of the only people who can challenge Stallone on said toughness scale. Anyone expecting major plot twists or a shakeup after the bloody ending to Season 2 may be disappointed in some of the familiar elements. But fans can sit back and enjoy a well-cast thrill ride that isn’t going to pull its punches.

Tulsa King Season 3 premieres Sept. 21, 2025 on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.