‘Tulsa King’: Neal McDonough Reacts to Deadly Premiere Twist

Tulsa King is back, and it’s wasting no time delivering big twists in Season 4’s premiere. Warning: Spoilers for Tulsa King Season 4 Episode 1, “WWDD,” ahead!

The season’s opener starts out on a high note for Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) and Cal Thresher (Neal McDonough) alike. With the General set to make millions on the distribution of the Fifty and Cal taking over the governor’s mansion, they’re both riding on a high.

Sure, Dwight has to broker a deal with Quiet Ray (James Russo), and Cal has an ambitious lieutenant governor, Amanda (newcomer Gretchen Mol), pressuring him to make nice with a billionaire tech bro and welcome in his data centers. But it’s nothing these two can’t handle … until the unthinkable happens.

Amid a lovely “anniversary” celebration, Margaret Devereaux (Dana Delany) informs Dwight that she’s heading out on a work trip with Cal, and the next thing he hears is a sobbing Joanne (Annabella Sciorra) informing him that their flight has gone down over the Pacific.

With that, both Cal and Margaret are gone, and according to Neal McDonough, he only saw one of those deaths coming. Here, the actor reacts to this fatal premiere twist.

The last time I talked to you, you were really excited about Cal winning the governorship and what that might mean. So, what was your reaction to finding out his fate in Season 4?

Neal McDonough: I thought it was a great idea. I wasn’t upset about it at all. I was supposed to be there for one season, and I got a second season, then I got part of a third season. And I got to play with the best sandbox, with Sly and Terry Winter’s writing, and of course Taylor Sheridan‘s writing, and great actors like Frank Grillo and Dana… It was just so much fun for the years I was there. For you to have a show that has to keep the audience thinking [and] on the edge of their seats, you’ve got to do certain things. And Taylor is great at doing things that no one saw coming. No one saw the demise of Cal Thresher — especially after he finally wins the governorship — that you’re not going to take him out, and he did. And I thought that was really kind of awesome. So again, I’m so blessed to have been able to be on the show for as long as I was. I’m not sure how the audience is going to react to it. I’d love to see. I can’t wait to see how the audience reacts to Cal Thesher dying after the first episode.

I think it’s going to be a surprise, but also it’s a little bit bittersweet in the sense that Cal gets to go out like a hero instead of becoming a villain again. So, for you, is that a little bit cathartic? Just the fact that you know his last act is turning down the data farming pitch from Amanda?

Yeah, I think that, again, here’s this wealthy guy who didn’t have to do really much in his life, and he dabbles in the world of marijuana, stupid. Cal’s like, “Why would I do this?” And then he gives the land away to Sly and says, “I’m walking away. I’ll see you around, Bill.” And so I started a relationship with other characters, Sly in particular. That was a different pressure than he was under when he started the series. He became this kinder, different type of guy, especially when he finally found something that he was kind of born to do: to be a politician and stand up for the great state of Oklahoma. And he was going to work his butt off to make sure that he did the right things for Oklahoma. Yes, he had issues in the past, and we have to address them. But he didn’t have any fear of addressing them because he knew he was on the right path, doing something finally worthwhile in his life, and he was so excited about it. And yeah, you’re right. He got taken out as a hero, and I think if Cal died, he died with a smile on his face, saying, “Oh, I did the right thing.” So I’m not upset at leaving the show at all. I ran my course and had a great time doing it.

Steve Swisher / Paramount+

Just to play the what-if game, just a little bit, do you think if he had played it out and gotten to be governor for longer, he would have done Dwight’s bidding? Because it seemed like Dwight would have expected a lot of returned favors.

No, I don’t, and I think that’s probably… Would he have done something to bend some rules? Possibly. But he was really bent on doing the right thing. It was a new chapter in his life, and he was going to do the best that he could for Oklahoma, not for himself, not for Dwight Manfredi, the best thing for the great state of Oklahoma. And he was so excited to help and finally have something that drove him to goodness in life. I’ll always smile when I think of Cal Thresher.

When we first meet Amanda, the new Gretchen Mol character, she’s a little bit snakey in the premiere. Do you think he was aware of her, that she might be undermining him or going around his back?

No, he knew right from the beginning. He could smell it. You could see in the first scene that we had. I’m like, “Relax, sister. There’s something going on here that I don’t really like. I’ll get to that later.” I should have gotten to it quicker, perhaps. He doesn’t trust her right out of the gate. I’m a politician, but I’ve always been in kind of a power position because of my wealth, right? So, people talk to me differently. I talk to other people differently. I understand things differently than most people. She’s this politician who wants to do things for whatever reasons she’s in the office for. I think the reasons that she’s in the office aren’t the most altruistic reasons. So there’s something just off about her that I don’t trust and like right out of the gate.

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I thought I read that, too, that maybe that’s what you were doing. This is also goodbye for Dana. How much have you enjoyed the dynamic that these two developed? Because it started out a little bit acrimonious, but ended on such a positive note.

Dana Delany is a champion. There’s a woman who’s worked so hard in this industry for so long, and she just gets better, and it was more difficult for me when I thought, “OK, I can see Cal dying, but why Dana?” Will she bounce back and be on another show? Of course. But there’s something about Dana on Tulsa King that just seemed like it should be a constant and should never have ended. I knew my time was going to end for a fact because I knew the past would finally catch up with me and bite me in the backside and be my demise. And I was waiting for it. I’m surprised it took as long as it did. So I was very happy with that. But for Dana, I still don’t understand why. I’m sure they all have great reasons for it, but boy, she is one of the most talented actors I’ve ever worked with, and one of the kindest people I’ve ever worked with at the same time.

Steve Swisher / Paramount+

Going forward from this episode, the premiere, you’re going to be watching as a spectator. What are you looking forward to seeing as the story continues and it’s growing out to Frisco King?  

How deep and layered Sly can go even further. He’s a guy who works so hard on his character, and he’s always telling the truth of his character, always trying to find new answers and new things to do. TV can dry you up after a while because it’s the same kind of stuff over and over. Tulsa King is one of those shows that every season is completely different from the last. So I’m really interested to watch how Sly, as Dwight, deals with all these new roadblocks, all these new challenges, all these new twists in the plots. And if anyone’s going to deal with it really well, it’s the superstar that Sylvester Stallone is, and I keep on saying, “For goodness sake, could the Emmys or the Golden Globes finally realize that?” If there’s one guy in the history of television that deserves it, look at a character that he’s built. He writes the characters. He lives and breathes the characters. He is the Tulsa King. Give him the award because he absolutely deserves it. He’s incredible, and I’m just so honored that I got to work with him as long as I did and get to call him my friend. So I love Sly, and I wish they’d just give him the award.

Is there any other Taylor Sheridan show that you’re eyeing in this universe that you’re like, “I want to be a part of that next?”

Any and all of them. Taylor Sheridan has his name on it, I want to be part of it…. Have you ever seen a Taylor Sheridan show that isn’t great? No. Every character that he has on all of his shows are all flushed out. All of them. I love them all. Do I love Landman? Of course I do. Do I love Dutton Ranch? Yeah, I would love for Malcolm Beck to come back and get dirty with Cole Hauser. Because Cole is one of my best pals in this business, and to go nose to nose with Cole would just be just so much fun. Whether it’s Dutton Ranch or a different show, moving down the road, I’d love to work with Cole again. He’s one of my favorites. But I would love to start a brand-new one. I would love to start a show where I get to be the guy who has just this flawed past, but he’s the one that can get the job done in the end, and that’s something I would love to do with Taylor.

What are you working on now that fans can follow next?

We have Angel and the Badman coming out of the theaters on October 8, a new Western that I did with Tommy Lee Jones and Zach Levi for Angel Studios, which is just great. Then we have another film that we produced called Jimmy, the Jimmy Stewart story, that Ruvé and I helped produce. It comes out on November 6, and KJ Apa plays Jimmy Stewart, and he’s just absolutely flawless. Then, after that, I’m doing a film in Poland, this great Catholic film in Poland next. I leave next week. And after that, we have [a new movie] that Jon Avnet, my favorite director of all time, is directing me again for this great film for Angel Studios. So Ruvé and I are busy, and we couldn’t be more blessed to be where we are right now.

Tulsa King, Fridays, Paramount+