The Taylor Sheridan TV empire just added another icon to its ranks — and he’s not coming quietly. Samuel L. Jackson will officially headline NOLA King, the first spin-off of Paramount+’s hit series Tulsa King. The announcement comes with another major milestone: this marks Jackson’s first time leading an ongoing television series, an incredible feat for an actor whose legacy spans more than 150 films and nearly $15 billion in global box office receipts. NOLA King will debut following Jackson’s introduction in the upcoming third season of Tulsa King, which premieres in September 2025 on Paramount+. Jackson’s character, Russell Lee Washington Jr., will make his debut there before taking center stage in the New Orleans-set spin-off.
“Samuel L. Jackson brings unparalleled presence and global appeal, making him the perfect choice to maximize the momentum of one of our biggest hits and transform it into a hit franchise,” said Chris McCarthy, Co-CEO of Paramount Global and President of Showtime/MTV Entertainment. Executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Sylvester Stallone, and Samuel L. Jackson himself, NOLA King continues the gritty, character-driven storytelling that has turned Sheridan into Paramount+’s most bankable storyteller.
In NOLA King, Jackson plays Russell Lee Washington Jr., a former inmate who once shared a 10-year prison stint with Stallone’s Dwight Manfredi. When the New York-based Renzetti crime family sends him to Tulsa to take Dwight out, Washington instead becomes inspired by Dwight’s second-chance life and heads back to New Orleans, the city he abandoned 40 years earlier. There, he attempts to reconnect with his estranged family and take control of the city’s criminal underworld — while drawing heat from both the East Coast mob and old enemies in NOLA, both on the streets and in the police force.
Samuel L. Jackson Can’t Wait for ‘NOLA King’
Speaking with Collider’s Taylor Gates, Jackson revealed his excitement about stepping into Sheridan’s world, which already includes Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Mayor of Kingstown, and Tulsa King:
“At least 15 of those shows are on my watchlist all the time, so I’m really happy to be in that universe. I watched Tulsa King, and I liked it even before that idea came up. I know very little about what’s going to happen. I don’t know the character’s name. I don’t know what our history is. I don’t know anything about it, but I do know that I’m very anxious to jump into it and find out what it’s going to be.”
In the meantime, fans can stream Tulsa King exclusively on Paramount+ and brace themselves for a new king to rise.
via Collider