In a town where dreams often go to die, Taylor Sheridan’s journey from a not-so-successful actor to an overnight success as a writer and showrunner is nothing short of a Hollywood fairy tale—to say the least.
By his mid-40s, he had penned the screenplay for Sicario, which nabbed him a Writers Guild of America Award nomination—a real feather in his cap and the start of his TV empire! Sheridan didn’t just hit a home run with one show; he knocked it out of the park with Yellowstone. Riding high on this success, he expanded his storytelling domain with the prequels 1883 and 1923, proving he had plenty more tricks up his sleeve.
And just when you thought his creative reservoir might run dry, he bestowed upon us yet another gem: Tulsa King, starring Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi. When Sheridan tapped Terence Winter to steer the ship, the latter reshuffled the deck and changed several things from the first draft, making Tulsa King his own magnum opus.
Can You Really Write a TV Pilot in One Day? Taylor Sheridan Did for Tulsa King
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor Sheridan’s producing partner, David Glasser, revealed that the Yellowstone co-creator whipped up the pilot script for Tulsa King in a single day. The spark for this creation was ignited when Glasser mentioned Sylvester Stallone’s long-held dream of playing a gangster.
Stallone himself once shared a hilarious anecdote (via YouTube) about being turned down for an extra role in The Godfather because he “didn’t look Italian enough.” With a grin, he joked, “The only thing that looks more Italian than me is a f****** pizza.”
Ergo, within 24 hours, Sheridan had the pilot script ready and sent it to Glasser the next day. So, Tulsa King was born.
But Sheridan wasn’t meant to be the captain of Tulsa King for the long haul. After preparing the concept and writing the pilot, he handed the reins over to TV maestro Terence Winter. The latter, famous for his work on The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire was the ideal choice to steer this mob saga.
In a promotional video for Tulsa King, Sheridan praised Winter, saying,
Terence is someone whose work I admired, and I felt that he had a real keen understanding of this world and would appreciate a real fresh look at it.
Winter definitely left his mark on the show, helping it become a hit.
The Surprising Changes That Made Taylor Sheridan’s Tulsa King Shine
When Taylor Sheridan handed over Tulsa King’s project, Terence Winter decided to make a few changes. From then on, the comedy and crime-drama series became Winter’s brainchild. He told The Washington Post:
I inherited this, which was my great good fortune. I pitched him what I wanted to do. He said, ‘Great. This is your baby.
In an interview with Vulture, Winter was over the moon about joining Tulsa King. He described receiving the call from his agent as “the greatest call ever,” as if he’d just hit the jackpot:
‘Hey, Taylor Sheridan reached out. He has a show that Sly Stallone is attached to and they want you to be involved in it.’
Winter’s response? He didn’t need to mull it over for long—he was all in, like a kid at a candy store.
I said, ‘I gotta think about that—yeah, I’ll do it!’
Sheridan had whipped up the pilot in record time, with a plot about a 75-year-old mobster who’s sent away—initially to Kansas City—but Winter thought the idea of an old gangster reinventing himself was too good to pass up.
To quote Boardwalk Empire creator:
Taylor had written a pilot really quickly; he had this idea about a guy, 75 years old, mafioso, who gets sent—originally it was Kansas City. I thought it was a really interesting idea, a guy at the end of his life who’s gotta reinvent himself.
While critics were quick to tip their hats to Stallone’s standout performance, a few couldn’t resist grumbling about the dialogue and the story arc (Rotten Tomatoes). Still, the show managed to catch a break and scored a nomination for a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award in 2023.
Tulsa King is currently available on Paramount+.
