Tulsa King Season 4 Starts Production Without Showrunner

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The popular crime drama starring Sylvester Stallone is starting production on its fourth season, but it’s doing so without a designated showrunner. Filming has begun in Atlanta, but recent reports indicate the production is lacking clear leadership after over two dozen crew members were let go.

The new show benefits from Sylvester Stallone’s popularity and the creative talent of Taylor Sheridan, known for Yellowstone. It’s reportedly attracting a large audience, but making the show hasn’t been easy, with a surprisingly complex production process.

According to Scott Stone, an executive at Tulsa King producer 101 Studios, someone is currently stepping in to oversee the show’s creative direction, as a traditional showrunner hasn’t been appointed. He’s collaborating with production managers Rebecca Rivo and Christian Agypt, though none of them are writing or directing the series.

Freddie Poole, a stunt coordinator who was laid off from Tulsa King, shared with Variety that creator Taylor Sheridan announced they wouldn’t be using a traditional showrunner. Instead, Sheridan said the first episode would effectively be the showrunner. Poole found this concerning, telling Variety, ‘That was a clear sign to me that I needed to protect my own interests and start looking for other work.’

Tulsa King Season 4 Starts Production Without a Showrunner

The show Tulsa King had a rocky start when it came to consistent leadership, changing showrunners several times in its first three seasons. Terence Winter led the first season, but stepped down during the second, though he remained involved behind the scenes. Production on Season 2 actually began without a showrunner in place.

Dave Erickson initially led the creative direction of Tulsa King as showrunner for its third season. However, he had to leave the show during its fourth season because he was already committed to working on another series by Taylor Sheridan for Paramount+, Mayor of Kingstown, starring Jeremy Renner. Similarly, Erickson was originally slated to showrun the Tulsa King spin-off, NOLA King, which would have starred Samuel L. Jackson, but he had to give up that role as well due to his prior commitments, even after writing the pilot episode.

It’s common for TV shows to have different crew members each season, and the 26 people let go from Tulsa King weren’t promised jobs for a fourth season. Some of those affected feel the production lacked strong leadership, leading to poor communication about the staffing changes – some only found out they were being replaced when they saw their old jobs advertised.

Poole described the situation as unprofessional and avoidable. He explained that some crew members were asked to leave their gear after the third season, only to be informed a week before filming began that they wouldn’t be rehired. He felt this was particularly discouraging for those affected.

I just finished watching the first three seasons of Tulsa King on Paramount+, and it’s a really compelling story about a New York mafia boss who relocates to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and tries to establish a new criminal empire. And good news for fans – they’ve already started filming season four, but this time they’ve moved production to Atlanta!

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2025-11-20 01:41