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New Orleans: the city that care forgot, the birthplace of jazz, where young adults go to christen their 21st year with strong pours and forgetful mornings. Frisco: The safest suburb in Texas.
So be it beyond us how and why Taylor Sheridan, unofficial patron saint of Texas cinematography, renamed his upcoming spin-off series from NOLA King to Frisco King. The Paramount+ series stars Samuel L. Jackson as Russell Lee Washington Jr., who began as a guest on the original Oklahoma-based series.
Initially drafted to be based in the Big Easy, the show lost its original showrunner and location in the last seven months. Now Sheridan, slated as showrunner and writer for the entire eight-episode season, is moving the show to the stay-at-home-mom capital of the world.
“We are honored to have Taylor Sheridan write the first season of Frisco King and bring to life Samuel L. Jackson’s iconic character,” said Paramount Television Studios prexy Matt Thunell to Variety. “Having him pen all episodes of the season with his singular voice will be a treat for fans of Tulsa King and audiences around the world.”
Sheridan has been a driving force in bolstering the Texas cinema scene both through his work and massive legislative efforts. When Sheridan isn’t placing his shows in Texas, he’s filming them here. He’s got to have the guy in charge of shutting down roads in downtown Dallas on speed dial. It wouldn’t surprise us if the show rebrand happened right after Sheridan got the quote for shipping a dozen caimans to his studio in Fort Worth.
The change from New Orleans to Frisco has caused a little shock and awe. Our own news editor’s disbelief was so strong that he thought it was a joke. And we’d do anything for an exclusive with Jackson, whose work travel reroute might go down as one of the worst in history. But anyone who knows anything about Sheridan knows he loves to bring business back home.
More surprising than the change in filming location is that Sheridan has now gone with [City Name] King three times. If he’s looking to Real Housewives-it with a four-peat, Grand Prairie King has a nice ring to it. We could even get on board with Las Colinas King. The options are endless.
If you think about it, New Orleans and Frisco really aren’t that different. What alligators are to the bayou, unleashed poorly trained golden retrievers are to the suburbs. What jazz music is to Frenchman Street, ACDC’s “Thunder” is to anyone who’s ever been to a home game of the Dallas Cowboys.
Fifty bucks says the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders make at least one appearance. Double it for a cameo from Clay Aiken.
Either way, expect an eventual shutdown on Preston Road, probably. And a sighting of Samuel L. Jackson at The Star. Production starts next month, and they’re always looking for extras.
