Tulsa King marked Sylvester Stallone‘s first foray into television following a massively successful career in movies. This box office titan has been the face of two of the biggest franchises ever made: Rocky and Rambo. He has also stepped behind the camera numerous times, is a skilled screenwriter, and has found himself nominated for three Academy Awards.
While Stallone is one of the most succesful figures in Hollywood, for a long time, he had an unrealized dream. As disclosed in Netflix’s documentary Sly, the Italian Stallion couldn’t even land a background role in The Godfather when he auditioned in the early 70s. However, he got his chance to play a mobster in Taylor Sheridan‘s Tulsa King, taking on the role of Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi. The show has now been renewed for a third season. What makes this series so different to other mob shows is the humor injected throughout, adding levity to the often dark subject matters explored. So, here’s our pick of Tulsa King‘s funniest moments.
5. Dwight Tries to Adjust to the Modern Era
After spending 25 years in prison, Dwight returns to New York City only to be pushed out by his crew who send him to Tulsa. Along with losing contact with his daughter while in jail, Dwight also lost touch with the times, meaning he comes out to a world he no longer recognizes. The series opened up with some tense scenes but quickly laid out some comedic moments, setting the tone for what was to come.
One of the first scenes that boasted this lighter tone was when Dwight realized pretty much every transaction is now cashless. For a mobster, that’s a nightmare. To that, this episode sees him set out to get his very first debit card. This scene resonated deeply with audiences, as season 1 aired in 2022, right after the global pandemic had just started to simmer down but the majority of the world were still cashless. The levity this scene provided let the audience know that Tulsa King was not going to be all about crime and violence, but would also explore some current trending themes in a comedic way.
4. Dwight Gets High on His Own Supply
The first episode of Tulsa King season 1 saw Dwight make the best of a bad situation. While he wasn’t happy with his crew exiling him, his business mind quickly kicked into gear. After securing himself a driver named Tyson (Jay Will), Dwight drove around Tulsa looking for businesses to muscle in on and stumbled upon a legal marijuana store. After taking out the security guard with a swift flask to the head (another comedic moment), he offered his services, well, imposed them.
Eventually, the shop owner Bodhi (Martin Starr) started to warm to Dwight, realizing he had no choice in the matter, frankly. In episode 2 of season 1, the guys all go on a little road trip and Dwight takes a joint with him for the journey. As he reflects on his freedom, he spurts out a long-winded rant about the state of the world – expressing his confusion with camera phones, the price of coffee, the state of the music industry, and the use of pronouns. These are all things that most of us have gotten used to now, but hearing it all through Dwight’s hazy lens puts a fresh spin on it, and his glazed-over eyes make it all the more funny. Adding another layer of playfulness to the scene is the fact that Sylvester Stallone is known in Hollywood for his disapproval of woke culture.
3. The Tulsa King Moves to the Suburbs
As a mobster, Dwight has faced many adversaries in his day. However, in season 2, he came up against the most peculiar of them all. Season 1 saw Dwight literally become the Tulsa king as he built his unit, wrangling together members of his former crew and a plethora of misfits from the town. By season 2, he had made enough cash to buy himself a house big enough to fit his sister, daughter, and her children. But there was one problem – it was in the suburbs. For any city man, this can be tough to adjust to, but for Dwight, a man who doesn’t do things by the book, it’s near impossible.
During his very first day on the block, Dwight meets busybody Wesley Tucker (Dan Bakkedahl), the Vice Chairman of the Homeowner’s Association. Right out of the gate, Wesley slaps Dwight with a fine for leaving his garage door open for over 20 minutes. As the episode goes on, the fines keep coming. However, when he sees Dwight on the news and realizes who he is, he quakes in his loafers and tells Dwight to forget the whole thing. This backstory of the episode added a playfulness to the more darker themes explored, thrusting Dwight into a scenario that no TV or movie gangster has been in before.
2. Dwight Gets Pranked
There are many times throughout Tulsa King where Dwight proves just how long he was in prison for, making un-PC jokes, and genuinely being behind on the times. Throughout the series he tries to push his taste in music on his soldiers, talking about the heyday of the 60s when The Rolling Stones were like gods. So, when rapper Jelly Roll came to perform at Even Higher Plain, the guys convinced Dwight that he was janitor trying to make it big in the music industry. Dwight held his own though, taking the ‘egg on the face’ with a pinch of salt.
1. Dwight and the Driving Instructor
As well as getting his very first bank card, Dwight had to get his driving licence all over again in season 1 of Tulsa King. Of course, it wasn’t so straight forward. While taking his test, his enemies came for him and an action-packed shootout and high-speed chase ensued, all while Paul Cheevers, the mild-mannered driving instructor was sat in the passenger seat. But, he wasn’t out of the woods just yet. In season 2, Dwight came back to Paul for help, asking him to run some plates. Paul turned him down until a fat envelope of cash landed in his hand. However, Dwight is one persistent mobster. Throughout season 2, he comes back to Paul for more help, even yanking him from the car mid-lesson with a young student.
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