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Taylor Sheridan pays his leads handsomely, but Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Tulsa King’ salary will blow your mind

Sylvester Stallone’s salary for ‘Tulsa King’ jumped from $750K to $1M per episode in Season 1, and it only increased from there

‘Tulsa King’ has quickly become one of the most acclaimed series from creator Taylor Sheridan. Starring Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone, the show gained massive popularity thanks to its gripping storyline and Stallone’s standout performance as gangster Dwight Manfredi, who sets out to build a new empire. While his name alone adds serious weight to the series, the actor was reportedly paid a staggering amount to stay on board for future seasons.

As per Variety’s 2022 report, Stallone made between $750,000 $1 million per episode in the first season. However, it is crucial to know that this salary is not only limited to ‘Tulsa King,’ but in fact, almost every lead in the series, coming from Sheridan, was paid a similar amount. This means actors like Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren in ‘1923,’ as well as Yellowstone’s Kevin Costner, have earned the same amount. When compared to other actors in the TV industry, who have also done a great time on the big screen, it is Michael Keaton, who made around the same salary for 'Dopesick' on Hulu back in 2021.

As per Slash Film, Apple TV+ paid Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd a similar salary while working on ‘The Shrink Next Door.’ Coming to the lower range of salary, it was Elizabeth Olsen, who earned $875,000 per episode for HBO Max's crime drama miniseries, ‘Love & Death.’ Moving forward, as ‘Tulsa King’ proved to be a success for the production house, the actor from ‘Escape Plan’ earned even more during the second season of the crime drama.

As per Koimoi, Stallone’s pay was bumped to $1.5 million per episode for Season 2 of ‘Tulsa King,’ with his salary reportedly increasing to $2 million per episode following the show’s renewal for Season 3. This all comes amid Paramount Global’s efforts to make Paramount+ a must-have streaming platform. Other streamers are also investing heavily in star power — Peacock, for instance, has shelled out major salaries for Pete Davidson and Natasha Lyonne. Meanwhile, Variety reports, “HBO, if they’re not competing for movie stars, they have to pay more too. Netflix is also starting to catch up.”

For the unversed, ‘Tulsa King’ has wrapped its Season 3 filming and is expected to hit the TV screens in December this year. Announcing the big news, the ‘Rocky Balboa’ actor took to Instagram and updated his fans, stating the team behind ‘Tulsa King’ is “really happy with the show this season.” He further added, “What is going to be amazing is next year, we’re going to be cranking up and going places unknown. So we’re going to try and create a lot of new surprises and interest in the show.” In his Instagram caption, Stallone added, “Last day in Tulsa! I want to give a huge shout out to the incredible cast and crew that have made this show into what is it today. Can’t wait for everyone to see what’s in store for season 3 we will start filming season four very soon and hopefully after that season five!”