Yellowstone’s 2 Biggest Spinoffs Are Stealing Tulsa King’s Greatest Trick in Storytelling and Character Reinvention.

In the expanding universe of Taylor Sheridan’s television empire, Yellowstone remains the crown jewel — a gritty, emotionally charged saga of family power, land, and loyalty in modern-day Montana. However, as the franchise grows with spinoffs like 1883, 1923, and upcoming titles such as 6666 and 1944, fans and critics have noticed something fascinating: these shows are beginning to borrow one of Tulsa King’s greatest storytelling tricks — the art of reinvention through displacement. This narrative technique, perfected by Sheridan in Tulsa King, involves taking a character from one familiar world and thrusting them into a completely new, often hostile environment where they must rebuild their identity and authority from the ground up. What makes this strategy so effective is its ability to merge themes of redemption, survival, and unexpected leadership — all of which lie at the heart of Sheridan’s best work.

In Tulsa King

Sylvester Stallone stars as Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a New York mob capo freshly released from prison after serving twenty-five years. Expecting to be welcomed back into the Mafia fold, he’s instead exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma — a place that might as well be another planet for a lifelong New Yorker. Out of this fish-out-of-water setup emerges something fresh: a darkly funny yet deeply human story about an aging gangster learning to rebuild his empire in the least likely place. Dwight doesn’t just adapt to his new environment — he transforms it. He applies old-world street smarts to a modern, rural American setting, carving out a space for himself while building unlikely relationships and confronting his own outdated ways. It’s both a reinvention of the mob drama and a meditation on resilience.

Now, Yellowstone’s spinoffs appear to be taking a similar path. 1883 and 1923 were the first steps — expanding the Dutton family mythos across time periods, geography, and moral boundaries. In 1883

the story follows the Dutton ancestors as they travel across the unforgiving American frontier in search of a place to call home. This series, led by Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Isabel May, is raw and brutal, painting a portrait of survival against all odds. It’s not just a prequel; it’s a transformation narrative. Much like Dwight in Tulsa King, these pioneers are thrust into an alien world — one filled with danger, disease, and loss — and must reinvent themselves to survive. Every step they take westward mirrors the kind of reinvention Tulsa King made its signature.

Then came 1923, which shifted the focus to a new generation ofDuttons, led by Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara (Helen Mirren). This installment explores the family’s struggle during the early twentieth century — marked by prohibition, economic upheaval, and social change. Once again, the theme of displacement and adaptation dominates. The Duttons face not only threats to their land but also the collapse of traditional ways of life. The old rules no longer apply, and like Dwight in Tulsa, Jacob must learn to fight in a world that’s evolving faster than he can control. Sheridan cleverly uses these spinoffs to show how history itself is a cycle of reinvention, echoing Tulsa King’s structure on a generational scale.

But the upcoming 6666 and 1944 spinoffs appear to take this influence even further. 6666, set on the legendary Four Sixes Ranch in Texas, will reportedly follow a cast of modern-day cowboys grappling with legacy, progress, and survival — much like Dwight’s struggles to maintain his old-school values in a modernized Tulsa. Early reports suggest that 6666 will feature Yellowstone characters like Jimmy Hurdstrom and explore the balance between tradition and evolution. Meanwhile, 1944 promises to bridge the generational gap between 1923 and the present-day Dutton family, showcasing yet another era of transformation. Each new series relocates the heart of the story to a new time or place, pushing characters to adapt or perish — the same emotional engine that drives Tulsa King.

What makes this shared narrative trick so compelling is how it highlights human resilience. Both Tulsa King and Yellowstone’s spinoffs are ultimately about reinvention — about what happens when power structures collapse, when characters are stripped of their identities, and when survival demands change. In Tulsa King, Dwight Manfredi learns that power in Tulsa comes not from violence but from un