Samuel L. Jackson’s ‘NOLA King’ spinoff searches for a new showrunner after Dave Erickson exits due to scheduling conflicts with other series.
Paramount+’s proposed spinoff of Tulsa King, tentatively titled NOLA King, is moving forward in search of a new showrunner after pilot writer Dave Erickson stepped aside due to conflicting commitments.
Erickson, who penned the spinoff’s pilot and was originally set to shepherd the series, found himself stretched thin by his concurrent duties: he is showrunner on the current season of Tulsa King and also heads up Taylor Sheridan’s Mayor of Kingstown.
Unable to accommodate another series on his schedule, Erickson opted to depart the project, prompting the hunt for fresh leadership atop the writers’ room.
Although Paramount+ has not yet given NOLA King an official series order, the network and producers remain optimistic about its prospects.
The narrative is designed as a direct extension of Tulsa King’s world, relocating Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Russell Lee Washington Jr., to New Orleans. Jackson will first reappear as Washington Jr. in multiple episodes of Tulsa King’s upcoming third season—filmed across Atlanta and Oklahoma—and will subsequently transition to the spinoff, stepping into the lead role as both star and executive producer.
Within the Tulsa King universe, Russell Lee Washington Jr. emerges from the same criminal milieu as Sylvester Stallone’s Dwight “The General” Manfredi.
In his arc, Washington Jr. is set to clash with Dwight on Tulsa soil before embarking on new challenges in New Orleans. Production on Season 3 of Tulsa King is already in full swing, with Jackson slated to shoot his scenes in July. Looking ahead, the production team aims to begin principal photography on NOLA King in February of next year.
Executive producing credits for NOLA King beyond Jackson include series creator and Mayor of Kingstown architect Taylor Sheridan and 101 Studios’ David C. Glasser.
With Variety having first broken the news of Erickson’s departure, the search is now on for a showrunner capable of realizing the franchise’s next chapter—one that promises to expand the gritty, character-driven storytelling that has become Tulsa King’s signature.
As Hollywood continues to batch out spin-offs of successful series, the right creative helm will be critical to ensuring NOLA King lives up to its parent show’s high bar.
