The new crime drama brings organized crime to suburban Texas.
LOS ANGELES
Samuel L. Jackson is preparing to lead Frisco King, a new Paramount+ crime drama expanding the television universe established by Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King. The streaming platform has released the first teaser and confirmed that the eight-episode series will premiere on December 18, 2026, with two episodes available on its opening day.
Created and written by Taylor Sheridan, the production follows Russell Lee Washington Jr., an experienced New Orleans gangster attempting to establish a criminal enterprise in Frisco, Texas. Jackson reprises the character he introduced during the third season of Tulsa King, creating a narrative connection between the two productions.
Washington’s original appearance placed him in direct conflict with Dwight Manfredi, the New York mobster portrayed by Stallone. Although assigned to kill Manfredi, Washington ultimately chose a different course, establishing a complicated relationship between the two criminals.
That decision provides a foundation for the new series, although Frisco King moves beyond its predecessor’s Oklahoma setting.
The story unfolds in a Texas suburb where apparently ordinary business activities conceal opportunities for organized crime. Washington recruits an ambitious protégé, a trusted driver and several unconventional associates as he attempts to transform small-scale operations into a larger criminal organization.
The setting introduces a different environment for the franchise. Rather than focusing on a traditional urban criminal hierarchy, the series places an experienced gangster within a suburban economy where commercial ambition and illegal enterprise become increasingly difficult to distinguish.
Jackson’s character brings decades of criminal experience to that unfamiliar territory. His principal challenge appears to involve maintaining authority while adapting to local circumstances and anticipating threats created by his expanding operations.
The project was originally announced under the title NOLA King, with New Orleans expected to serve as its principal setting. Its subsequent transformation into Frisco King marked a geographical and narrative adjustment, shifting the character’s ambitions to the Dallas metropolitan area.
Sheridan’s creative involvement is particularly significant. Although he created Tulsa King, the original series has generally relied on other writers for its individual episodes. For Frisco King, Sheridan has taken direct responsibility for writing all eight installments.
The supporting cast includes Asa Germann, Kai Caster, Lilah Pate and Savanna Gann. Stallone will also make a special appearance as Dwight Manfredi, maintaining continuity between the established series and its new extension.
Jackson, Stallone and Sheridan are among the executive producers.
The announcement arrives as Tulsa King continues its own expansion. Its fourth season premiered on Paramount+ on October 16, keeping Stallone’s character at the center of a franchise that is developing additional stories around figures introduced during earlier episodes.
For Jackson, whose film career includes Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight and numerous Marvel productions, the project provides an opportunity to build a leading television character within an established dramatic universe.
The actor’s extensive experience portraying morally ambiguous figures may complement Sheridan’s established interest in characters operating between personal loyalty, criminal ambition and institutional authority.
The broader significance extends to Paramount+’s programming strategy. Developing a spin-off around a supporting character allows the platform to expand an existing audience while exploring a different setting and narrative direction.
Yet the commercial potential of a recognizable franchise does not guarantee that its new characters will achieve comparable dramatic depth. Much will depend on whether Washington’s relationships and ambitions establish an identity distinct from Manfredi’s original story.
With its December premiere approaching, Frisco King represents both a continuation of Tulsa King’s criminal world and an attempt to establish an independent narrative around one of its most formidable supporting characters.
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