Tulsa King: He’s a Sly one

No . . . Could it be . . . Is that Sylvester Stallone? I didn’t know Sly did TV?

The answer is yes. In fact, he’s done a couple of cameos over the years, but Tulsa King is his first foray into a television series.

And, after some really poor movies (think Rambo: Nursing Home and The Expendables — any number you want) Sly is back bigger, better and larger than life.

I’ve only caught one episode of the Paramount series so far, by accident while surfing the streaming services, but Tulsa King looks like it could be the goods.

Stallone has teamed with a producer/writer Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of Yellowstone and the creator of its prequel, 1883 — to play an aging mob boss who tries to start over after his release from prison.

That doesn’t mean going straight. He wants back in and is handed the Oklahoma city of Tulsa to do with pretty much what he wants.

He’s not too happy about his new digs, but is not really in a position to refuse, so it’s Tulsa or hit the road.

Stallone is Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a New York mafioso who has spent the last 25 years in prison, keeping quiet and trying to stay alive.

He expects more for maintaining his silence, but is a pragmatic man who hits the ground running.

Getting a cab from the airport, he signs up the cabbie to be his driver. Then catching sight of a medicinal hemp clinic, he tells the driver to stop the car, walks in and strong-arms the owner into a cut of the action in return for his protection.

The dazed owner has little choice but to comply.

Taking some but not all of the $500,000 in his safe, he instructs his new driver to head downtown and pick a shiny new Lincoln Navigator — black of course.

Things go awry however when the car dealer refuses to sell the Lincoln to a black man, taking him for a crack dealer.

The General quickly makes him see the error of his ways.

Tulsa King is that special mix of crime and slapstick humour that will see you coming back for more and Stallone is made for the role.

The humour is dry and not overdone. Like the show.

Stallone likes to ad-lib and tries the jokes out on his wife first.

Dwight to his driver Tyson:

“In the future, if anyone asks what I do for a living, you tell ’em I’m an industrialist.

“What does that even mean?

“My point exactly. Nobody knows.”