Tulsa King Is Losing One Of Its Most Important Characters In Season 5

Published Oct 14, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT

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Taylor Sheridan's Tulsa King is headed for a major change after its upcoming fourth season, losing one of its most important characters in an unexpected turn. Since its 2022 premiere, the Paramount+ crime drama has built its story around a fish out of water in Sylvester Stallone's Dwight Manfredi, a New York mafioso who's sent to Tulsa by his boss after being released from prison after a long sentence. While Dwight is the obvious centerpiece of Tulsa King, the series has had another central fixture, one viewers probably aren't consciously taking note of as the hit streaming series continues on.

Throughout Tulsa King's run, the show's identity has been deeply rooted in its locale. At first, the series saw Dwight adapting to a whole new place and bringing his own experiences into a different world, but as Tulsa King continued, the series saw Manfredi getting used to his surroundings. With Tulsa King season 4 slowly moving through another story set in Tulsa, there's an upcoming change to the series that should have viewers lingering on what could happen to pull Dwight away from Oklahoma in the show's next season. Tulsa King season 5 will leave Tulsa, its main setting, behind.

With years spent building a space for Dwight to realize that his skill set isn't anchored to his hometown, Tulsa King is pulling the rug out from under the series and making a major change moving forward. While returning to New York is interesting, it'll also be upending Tulsa King season 5.

Tulsa Has Been A Character In Its Own Right Throughout Tulsa King So Far

Throughout the show's run, Tulsa has been quietly playing one of the most important, if not the most important, roles on Tulsa King. The choice to establish Dwight's new life in Oklahoma was an integral part of the show's original concept, giving the character a space to grow with very little connection to the life he'd known before. Choosing Tulsa made it clear that Dwight's style, mannerisms, and overall personality were going to stand out no matter what, but also gave him the opportunity to adapt as a character to a new place, new people, and new ways of living.

As the series has continued, Dwight's come to understand Tulsa and the larger state of Oklahoma in a different way. With the show choosing to bring Tulsa into its visual identity, giving the series a distinctive atmosphere, the people and the world of Tulsa were just as important to shaping the series as the stories it was telling. Without Tulsa, specifically, as a part of the series in ways that viewers wouldn't necessarily be consciously aware of, Tulsa King wouldn't have been able to work the way it has. With the show moving back to New York, Tulsa will be left behind.

How Tulsa King Season 5 Moving To New York Changes The Show

photo: Brian Douglas / ©Paramount+/Viacom / Courtesy Everett Collection

Although Tulsa is one of the center points of Tulsa King, things will be changing for the series after its fourth season as the show moves Dwight back from Oklahoma to New York. While the details of why the switch up is happening have been kept under wraps, it's been reported that Tulsa King season 5 will move its production from Atlanta to New York, coinciding with the idea that Dwight will return to his roots, with his exile coming to an end. While the move makes narrative sense, switching things up so severely five seasons into a series could spell trouble.

The most important part of Tulsa King has been the fact that its setting makes Dwight a fish out of water, which infuses the series with a sense of narrative tension. While Dwight has gotten to know his surroundings over the course of the show, learning more about Tulsa has pushed him to reach even further outside his comfort zone. Now, moving things back to New York, Dwight may be a fish out of water in a completely different way, one that's easier to overcome. The challenge for Tulsa King season 5 will be balancing the dynamics, and creating a way where Tulsa can exist in spirit.

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  Dwight 'The General' Manfredi

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  Martin Starr

  Lawrence 'Bodhi' Geigerman