Pat McAfee Steps Into Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Tulsa King’ and the Hollywood Plan Behind It

Pat McAfee has spent years moving between football, sports media and wrestling commentary, and his next stop is a Paramount+ crime drama. Bloomberg reported that agent Ari Emanuel is looking to book him in several acting roles, including a major part in a Paramount+ series. That series is ‘Tulsa King’, and the casting has drawn more curiosity than most guest appearances do.

The story of Pat McAfee in ‘Tulsa King’ says as much about a media personality testing a new lane as it does about the show. Sylvester Stallone leads the Taylor Sheridan series, which returns to Paramount+ on Friday, October 16. Here is what is known about the role, the cast around him and the reaction so far.

Pat McAfee’s Role and the Badge Fans Spotted

McAfee plays a no nonsense local law enforcement officer stationed in Oklahoma. That puts him in direct conflict with the underworld operations Stallone’s character is building in Tulsa.

Viewers got their first real look in the season trailer. At the 1:32 mark, McAfee shows off a badge, which confirms his character works in law enforcement. The moment is brief, but it answered months of speculation about what a sports broadcaster would be doing in a mob drama.

The casting also fits the show’s current direction. Dwight is trying to legitimize his business, and his empire faces threats from corrupt politicians and dangerous new enemies. A lawman with a personal profile as large as McAfee’s adds another pressure point for a character who is already stretched thin.

How the Four Episode Arc Came Together

The path to the role runs through Emanuel. McAfee is set for a four episode arc, and Emanuel is the executive chairman of WME Group and TKO. Bloomberg reported that Emanuel added McAfee to his client list with the goal of making him the next Sylvester Stallone.

McAfee got ahead of the official news. He mentioned the project on his own show weeks before the report, saying he had just finished a bunch of episodes and described his acting as an experiment. Emanuel also teased the collaboration on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’.

‘Tulsa King’ is not his only acting credit on the way. He also has a role in the Netflix sports action drama ‘The Mosquito Bowl’, where he plays a U.S. Marine drill instructor. The film comes from director Peter Berg and is set during World War II. Taken together, the two projects suggest the push into acting is a broader plan and not a one time stunt.

The ‘Tulsa King’ Cast and Showrunner Shake Up

McAfee joins an ensemble anchored by Stallone. Stallone plays mob capo Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi. Gretchen Mol joins the cast as a series regular this season.

McAfee is also not the only unconventional name in the lineup. Wrestler Mike Walden, known as Cash Flo from OVW, plays a character called Bigfoot. Comedian Flula Borg is another guest star this season.

Behind the camera, the show has changed hands again. Terence Winter was the original showrunner on the first season, sat out the third to develop a series about mobster Sammy Gravano at FX, and returns as head writer and executive producer. Season three showrunner Dave Erickson is not returning and will focus on ‘Mayor of Kingstown’. Variety was the outlet that reported Winter’s return when the renewal was announced.

Reaction to Pat McAfee’s Acting Push

Early critical response has been measured on the casting. One review notes that the season indulges in oddball guest stars and stunt casting, including McAfee and Borg, while arguing that the series thrives on its newer characters beyond that casting. The same review credits Winter with strengthening the show’s crime drama ambitions.

Commentary around McAfee’s Hollywood ambitions has been more pointed. Media personality Jason Whitlock said he sees McAfee as closer to Dwayne Johnson than to Stallone. The comparison reflects a wider debate over whether a sports media figure can carry a career in scripted television.

The stakes for the show are real. The series earned a record 21.1 million global streaming viewers for its second season premiere, making it Paramount’s most watched original series that year. The new season has ten episodes released weekly on Fridays, and Paramount+ has already renewed the series for a fifth. That gives McAfee a sizable platform for what could be a brief cameo or the start of something larger.

For viewers, the real test is whether a badge carrying McAfee makes Dwight’s attempt to go legitimate more tense or simply more distracting, and it will be worth hearing how his scenes land once the arc plays out in ‘Tulsa King’.