Sylvester Stallone's Rocky & Rambo Replacement Officially Comes Back This Week

Published Oct 13, 2026, 4:31 PM EDT Sean is a senior writer for ScreenRant and has been writing about new TV releases since December 2023. He has received multiple advance screenings of popular shows and ideated his own coverage read by hundreds of thousands of readers. Sean is a self-published author of a Western novel. Sean has also written award-winning opinion pieces related to local politics while getting his Bachelor's degree in journalism. The best franchise Sylvester Stallone has been part of since the highs of Rocky and Rambo is returning for its fourth installment later this week. Over the years, Sylvester Stallone has made some great movies and played some iconic characters. From recent appearances in superhero franchises like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad to his timeless classics, like Cliffhanger and F.I.S.T., Stallone is an action icon. As iconic as Stallone's acting career has been so far, it's also been in decline in recent years. His best and most famous franchises, Rambo and Rocky, have been slowing down. It's been seven years since Rambo: Last Blood and the last time he appeared as Rocky was in Creed II, back in 2018. Both of those franchises had also been steadily decreasing in quality for years, as well, and the newer installments can't compare to the original films. His next biggest franchise, The Expendables, declined in quality even quicker than that and never achieved the same acclaim to begin with. Now, however, Sylvester Stallone has found a new franchise to replace both Rocky and Rambo, at least in terms of being his best and most famous project at the moment. Tulsa King, which was created by Taylor Sheridan, follows Stallone as Dwight Manfredi, a former New York mobster who moves to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to begin his own independent crime empire. Most importantly, Tulsa King season 4 premieres on Paramount+ later this week, on Friday, October 16. Tulsa King Is Sylvester Stallone's Best Franchise In Years Steve Swisher/Paramount+ While it is a television show instead of the movies he's best known for, Tulsa King is still easily Sylvester Stallone's best franchise since Rambo and Rocky. As previously mentioned, many of Stallone's film franchises haven't been thriving in recent years. It's been over half a decade since he was in Creed or Rocky, and The Expendables went downhill after the second movie. Tulsa King, on the other hand, is thriving. Since it began, Tulsa King has been pulling in rave reviews from critics and fans alike. It has 87% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, it routinely earns the top spot on Paramount+'s viewership leader boards, and it has one of the quickest development cycles in the streaming age; Tulsa King has released four seasons in just four years. Tulsa King has the numbers to prove its a hit, but it also has the substance to back it up. One of the very best parts of Tulsa King is Stallone himself. He's had plenty of chances to get into fistfights and shootouts like in Rambo and Rocky, but he also gets to showcase a softer, more sensitive side of his acting. There are some great emotional moments for Dwight in the first three seasons of Tulsa King, and season 4 promises to deliver even more in the future. As Dwight, Stallone is as funny, tough, and sensitive as he was in his very best movies. Tulsa King also boasts some great writing, a fantastic supporting cast, and many of the same qualities that make Taylor Sheridan's other shows such hits. It's one of the best gangster shows on the air right now, thanks in part to having A-list actors go up against Stallone as Dwight's mortal enemies. Tulsa King is action-packed, it has one of Stallone's most moving performances in years, and it's a far better successor to Rocky and Rambo than The Expendables ever was. There's Never Been A Better Time To Start Tulsa King Brian Douglas / ©Paramount+/Viacom Intl. / Courtesy Everett Collection Luckily for fans who are just now discovering Sylvester Stallone's best project in years, there's never been a better time to start Tulsa King. As previously mentioned, Tulsa King season 4 comes out on Friday, and its weekly release schedule means there's plenty of time to catch up on the first three seasons. On top of that, Tulsa King season 5 has already been renewed even before season 4 premieres, meaning new viewers have a guarantee that they'll have more to watch without having to wait too long. Tulsa King Season 4 Release Schedule Episode # Release Date (Fridays @ 3 a.m. ET on Paramount+) 1 October 16 2 October 23 3 October 30 4 November 6 5 November 13 6 November 20 7 November 27 8 December 4 9 December 11 10 December 18 As an added bonus, Tulsa King is also about to grow into a franchise all of its own. Tulsa King is getting its first spinoff in the near future in the form of Samuel L. Jackson's Frisco King, which will see his character, Russell Lee Washington Jr., start his own criminal empire in Texas. While Frisco King doesn't have an official synopsis or release date yet, it is reportedly done filming already, meaning now is the perfect time to start Tulsa King and learn all about Russell before the new show premieres. Sylvester Stallone has also recently teased that Tulsa King may end with season 6. While that may not seem like a great reason to start the show now, it means that a grand finale to Dwight's journey is very nearly here. Given Stallone's age and lack of concurrent projects, there's a chance that the ending of Tulsa King may also signal the end of his acting career. If you like Sylvester Stallone and want to watch what may well be his final role live, now is the time to start streaming Tulsa King. Release Date November 13, 2022 Network Paramount+ Showrunner Dave Erickson, Terence Winter Cast Dwight 'The General' Manfredi Martin Starr Lawrence 'Bodhi' Geigerman Directors Allen Coulter, Benjamin Semanoff, David Semel, Guy Ferland, Joshua Marston, Kevin Dowling, Lodge Kerrigan, Jim McKay Writers Joseph Riccobene, David Flebotte, William Schmidt, Taylor Elmore, Tom Sierchio, Regina Corrado, Stephen Scaia, Terence Winter Creator(s) Taylor Sheridan