Since I foolishly chose to become a journalist (I was in college, it seemed like a good idea at the time) and even more foolishly assigned myself the Tulsa King beat over the summer (indefensible by any measure) I find myself now in the unfortunate position of reporting that there are new episodes of Tulsa King available for you to watch.
It would be weird for us not to mention it, what with our commitment to knowing Tulsa better and all that. But I do think we’re at an unprecedented moment in city history, where not one but two competing streamer/broadcasters are airing fresh episodes of TV shows set in Tulsa, not to mention a Tony-winning Broadway show adapted from S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders set to kick off its North American tour here today.
Why does the rest of the country suddenly seem interested in Tulsa?
I don’t have a satisfying answer to that question, but I am confident that the American TV-watching public will not learn much about Tulsa by watching Tulsa King. It’s a charmless workplace soap made for an audience of clapping seals. The second season eased off on the Tulsa-specific references, opting to pipe in Tulsa B-roll (drone shots of Gathering Place, downtown, etc.) between scenes of the principal cast acting on location in Atlanta.
Tulsa King’s dedication to representing Tulsa as an American city with a unique history is basically nonexistent. I went on about all that earlier this summer: