Samuel L. Jackson Takes the Lead in the ‘Tulsa King’ Spinoff ‘NOLA King’ at Paramount+

The ‘Tulsa King’ spinoff starring Samuel L. Jackson began as a trade report and has since become a confirmed series. Paramount+ officially greenlit ‘NOLA King’ after Variety originally reported on the project in June. The announcement gave the Taylor Sheridan universe its first branch built on Sylvester Stallone’s mob drama.

The series is the first ‘Tulsa King’ spinoff and the first one outside the ‘Yellowstone’ universe. That context matters, because it shows how far Paramount+ is willing to push a franchise model that has worked for it before. What follows is a look at what has been confirmed about the project and where it stands.

Samuel L. Jackson Steps Into a Leading Television Role

‘NOLA King’ marks the first time Jackson has headlined a television series. He had previously worked on the small screen in projects such as ‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey’ and ‘Secret Invasion’. A leading role is a different proposition, and it places him at the center of a show rather than in a guest or supporting capacity.

Jackson is also among the executive producers, alongside Sheridan, David C. Glasser and Stallone. That gives him a hand in shaping the series beyond his performance. The show is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.

Dave Erickson, who previously co-wrote on ‘Mayor of Kingstown’, was tapped as showrunner. He is expected to step away from his duties on ‘Tulsa King’ to focus on the spinoff. His track record inside the Sheridan universe suggests continuity in tone.

Who Russell Lee Washington Jr. Is in ‘NOLA King’

Jackson plays Russell Lee Washington Jr., a figure from the crime underworld just like Stallone’s Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi. Early reports described the character as similar in nature to Stallone’s. The parallel is deliberate, and it frames the new series as a companion piece rather than a replacement.

The official logline explains how the two men are connected. Russell befriended Dwight during a ten year stint in federal prison, and was later sent to Tulsa by New York’s Renzetti crime family to take Dwight out once and for all. According to a report citing Parade, Dwight once saved Russell’s life while they served time together.

The spinoff proper begins after that confrontation. Inspired by what Dwight built in Tulsa, Russell returns to New Orleans, the home he abandoned forty years earlier, to rekindle his relationship with his family and friends and take control of the city. In doing so he incurs the wrath of his former employers in New York and leaves himself vulnerable to old foes, both criminal and cop.

How ‘Tulsa King’ Season 3 Sets Up the Spinoff

The plan was always to backdoor pilot the character in ‘Tulsa King’ Season 3 before sending him out on his own. That season was shooting in Atlanta and Oklahoma while the spinoff news broke. It is an unusual approach, since the new series was confirmed before audiences had met the character.

Jackson was set to debut as Russell in the final two episodes of the season, and the finale aired on a Sunday in late November. One outlet notes that the character first appeared in the ninth episode. The staggered introduction gave viewers time to form an opinion before the handoff.

In the Season 3 finale, titled ‘Jesus Lizard’, Russell tells Dwight to holler if they ever come to New Orleans. That line hints that Stallone and Jackson may share scenes again once the spinoff is underway. Stallone has said that working opposite Jackson made him nervous, comparing the experience to a boxing match.

What the ‘NOLA King’ Release Date Outlook Looks Like

Paramount+ has not announced an official release date for ‘NOLA King’. Deadline reported that production would begin in February 2026. Without a confirmed premiere window, any timeline remains an estimate.

One report projected a premiere in late 2026 or early 2027. Another outlet reasoned that filming and post production can take roughly ten months to over a year. Those projections are educated guesses rather than studio commitments.

The platform has good reason to be confident. ‘Tulsa King’ debuted in November 2022 and became the streamer’s most watched series premiere globally, later reaching the Nielsen streaming charts in its second season. The second season’s debut was also reported as the most watched premiere on the platform.

Jackson’s Russell arrives in New Orleans as a man with unfinished business in New York and old enemies at home, and Dwight’s open invitation to holler still hangs over the story. If the two crime bosses do cross paths in the Crescent City, should Dwight be the one to come south or should Russell finally pay back that prison favor on his own terms?