Forget Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan’s Next Franchise Is Here To Stay

Published Sep 17, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

Sean is a senior writer for ScreenRant and has been writing about new TV releases since December 2023. He has received multiple advance screenings of popular shows and ideated his own coverage read by hundreds of thousands of readers.

Sean is a self-published author of a Western novel. Sean has also written award-winning opinion pieces related to local politics while getting his Bachelor's degree in journalism.

Though Yellowstone has been Taylor Sheridan's biggest franchise for years now, another one of his creations is quickly approaching its size and success. Yellowstone and the many spinoffs it produced have long been Taylor Sheridan's biggest success story. While Sheridan has other great standalone shows like Landman and Lioness, none of them have been the cultural phenomenon and a franchise unto themselves like Yellowstone has.

For years now, since the original show began in 2019, Yellowstone has been Sheridan's biggest project. It now has four separate spinoff shows — 1883, 1923, Marshals, and Dutton Ranch — though the prequel series are over now. Still, Yellowstone ended in 2024, and Sheridan still hasn't found another show that can be a new franchise to hang his hat on. Sheridan's other shows are great, but they haven't reached Yellowstone levels of success.

Now, however, one of Sheridan's other shows could be the new Yellowstone, at least in terms of spawning a sprawling franchise out of a single hit show. Sheridan no longer writes for Sylvester Stallone's Tulsa King, but he did create the series. As Tulsa King season 4 approaches its October 16 premiere date, the show is already well underway to becoming a franchise in its own right.

Frisco King Could Be Better Than Tulsa King

Brian Douglas/©Paramount+/Viacom Intl./Courtesy Everett Collection

Tulsa King is returning for a fourth season next month, but it's also preparing for its first spinoff series. Samuel L. Jackson, who briefly appeared as Russel Lee Washington Jr. in Tulsa King season 3, is set to get his own show, Frisco King. The spinoff will reportedly follow Jackson's character as he goes from Tulsa to Frisco, Texas, to follow in Dwight's footsteps and start his own independent criminal empire outside the New York mafia.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about Frisco King, and there's even reason to believe that it could surpass Tulsa King. First and foremost, Samuel L. Jackson's involvement is huge for Frisco King. He's a great actor with arguably more range than Sylvester Stallone, and he should be more than capable of carrying the series. On top of that, Russell was instantly interesting and likable when he first appeared in Tulsa King season 3, which should mean Frisco King can hit the ground running with a great protagonist.

Unfortunately, the reasons Frisco King may be better than Tulsa King aren't all good. Tulsa King season 5 is reportedly moving production to New York City, which is a major change that might not be for the better. The show is titled Tulsa King, after all, so a potential switch to Dwight remaining in New York would go against the show's central concept and much of its appeal. Tulsa King may be heading into trouble in the near future, while Frisco King looks very promising already.

Tulsa King Could Become A Franchise To Rival Yellowstone

Frisco King is already a great sign that Tulsa King could spawn a bona fide franchise of its own. Having a spinoff is, of course, the first step towards making a show into a franchise. However, the very concept of Frisco King is the show's most valuable aspect, as it provides a solid formula for more spinoff shows in the future. Yellowstone had the past of the Dutton family, while Tulsa King has Dwight's myriad of criminal connections.

Frisco King is basically a perfect template for making an almost limitless number of spinoffs. When the time comes to expand the Tulsa King franchise, all Sheridan and the other creators need to do is find an older A-list actor, like Stallone or Jackson, introduce them as old friends of either Dwight or Lee, and send them off to a small Southern town to start their own criminal enterprises. It's as simple as titling the spinoffs "[Location] King," or "[Location] Queen" if the franchise wants to branch out to actresses.

Of course, Frisco King's worth as a template for future spinoffs does depend on it actually being good. If it's a bust, either with critics or with audiences, it may end Tulsa King's hopes of becoming a franchise before they even properly begin. However, if Frisco King turns out to be just as good or better than Tulsa King, then Taylor Sheridan will have his next big franchise to rival Yellowstone just waiting for him to find new actors.

• 

  Dwight 'The General' Manfredi

• 

  Martin Starr

  Lawrence 'Bodhi' Geigerman