Tulsa King Is Sylvester Stallone's Best Performance Since Rocky

Published Aug 26, 2026, 11:30 AM EDT

Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.

Paramount's three-season crime series starring Sylvester Stallone features his best performance since Rocky, and the show is far from over. Stallone's best roles are mostly in movies, with the actor bringing classic film characters like Rocky and Rambo to life. His characters are often no-nonsense tough guys with hearts of gold, sometimes with an underdog streak that makes them easy to root for. The Rocky movies are a classic example, while his more action-heavy movies feature characters that are just as engaging.

However, Stallone's TV roles haven't been as widely recognized. While he had guest parts early in his career for crime dramas like Police Story and Kojak, he was always a movie star more than he was a TV actor. That was until 2022, when Stallone teamed up with prolific TV creator Taylor Sheridan on a crime drama for Paramount+. Said crime drama not only skyrocketed in popularity, but features his best performance since the Rocky movies.

Said TV show is Tulsa King. A comedy crime drama, the series follows Stallone as Dwight Manfredi, a Mafia capo from New York City who gets out of prison after serving 25 years. Upon release, his bosses send him to Tulsa, Oklahoma to build a new criminal enterprise for the group. However, as time goes on, he slowly begins to build something for himself, much to the ire of the Mafia and criminal organizations already operating in Tulsa. It's a riveting series made all the better thanks to Stallone's memorable performance as its protagonist.

Sylvester Stallone's Dwight Manfredi Is A Classic TV Gangster

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

Stallone's Dwight Manfredi is everything a TV gangster should be, exhibiting all the traits of a classic character in the genre would. Immediately, his imprisonment and subsequent assignment from the Mafia paints him as an underdog, having to claw his way back up after sacrificing decades of his life. It makes his no-nonsense attitude fun to watch, with nuance, because he follows his own moral code. He's not trying to survive, but instead attempting to thrive, something that makes his business dealings and confrontations all the more entertaining.

It helps that the characters in Tulsa King all orbit around his presence, from the crew he builds in Tulsa to the rivals he comes into conflict with. His friendly demeanor toward allies makes him likable, thus making his goals easy to root for. But he also proves himself dangerous to those who cross him, willing to do anything to his enemies, especially if they try and harm his family. Carefully balancing a tough guy persona with genuine care for those around him makes Dwight the perfect protagonist, with all the important elements of a TV gangster rolled into one.

Tulsa King Gives Stallone A True Replacement For The Rocky Franchise

Dwight's underdog status at the start of the show, coupled with how he slowly builds himself up over each installment, makes Tulsa King the perfect replacement for the Rocky franchise. Just like the series of boxing movies, the TV show sees Stallone's character slowly improving his craft over time. Once Tulsa King season 3 rolls around, he's in a much better position than he was, while also facing a number of new dangers that keep him on his toes. It reflects Rocky in approach, while the crime drama genre helps define it as its own story.

What makes it even better is the story is far from over. Tulsa King season 4 is on the horizon, while a spinoff titled Frisco King starring Samuel L. Jackson is currently in the works. Dwight Manfredi may be Stallone's next big character for quite some time, especially if the show keeps performing well on Paramount+. With the show still having plenty of room to grow, it feels like the lead actor's time as Dwight is really only just getting started.

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  Dwight 'The General' Manfredi

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  Martin Starr

  Lawrence 'Bodhi' Geigerman