The Samuel L. Jackson-led Tulsa King spinoff is officially a-go at Paramount+.
The series order was announced on Thursday for the project that will be Jackson’s first television series that he’s headlined. News of the series first surfaced in June when it was reported that the series was in the works with Jackson eyed to appear in Tulsa King first.
Jackson will play a man who returns to his home in New Orleans to create his own version of the criminal enterprise that Sylvester Stallone’s character Dwight Manfredi leads in Tulsa. His character will be introduced in the third season of Tulsa King to preceed NOLA King. A first look at Jackson in Tulsa King was also revealed Thursday.
What is ‘NOLA King’ going to be about?
According to the official description:
NOLA KING follows Russell Lee Washington Jr. (Jackson) who, after befriending Dwight Manfredi (Stallone) during a ten-year stint in federal prison, is sent to Tulsa by New York’s Renzetti crime family to take Dwight out once and for all. Inspired by what Dwight created in Tulsa and impressed with the possibilities of second chances, Washington returns to New Orleans, the home he abandoned forty-years ago, to rekindle his relationship with his family and friends, and to take control of the city he left behind. In so doing, he incurs the wrath of his former employers in New York, and makes himself vulnerable to old NOLA foes, both criminal and cop.
Jackson will also executive produce with Stallone, Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin, Bob Yari, Michael Friedman and Keith Cox. MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios will produce the series.
Paramount Global CEO and President of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Chris McCarthy called Jackson’s performance in the series “layered” and “dynamic.”
“Samuel L. Jackson brings unparalleled presence and global appeal, making him the perfect choice to maximize the momentum of one of our biggest hits and transform it into a hit franchise,” said McCarthy. “Building on the breakout success of Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King, audiences will now experience the full force of Jackson’s dynamic, layered performance, supercharging one of Paramount+’s flagship series.”
What Sylvester Stallone says about Samuel L. Jackson’s ‘NOLA King.’
Stallone also gave a statement about how excited he is for Jackson to headline NOLA King, saying, “Chris McCarthy came to me with a game-changing idea: to elevate my show beyond a mob boss series, creating a dynamic, family-driven franchise. I was immediately on board. Sam Jackson is the only choice to anchor this new adventure in NOLA and David Glasser and 101 are the perfect partner to bring it to life.”
Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios, also said, “Partnering with Paramount has been such a rich experience. Taylor had the brilliant idea to drop Sylvester Stallone in the middle of Tulsa and it has been everything we have wanted and more. The success of this show has now led us to another icon. I cannot wait to see what Sam brings to this world.”
