“Tulsa King”: Neal McDonough reacts to the first deadly twist of season 4 (exclusive)

King of Tulsa is back, and it’s wasting no time delivering big twists and turns in the Season 4 premiere. Warning: spoilers for King of Tulsa Season 4, Episode 1, “WWDD,” Coming Soon!

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

Of course, Dwight has to negotiate a deal with Quiet Ray (James Russo), and Cal has an ambitious lieutenant governor, Amanda (newcomer Gretchen Mol), who is pressuring him to make nice with a billionaire tech brother and welcome him into his data centers. But there’s nothing these two can’t handle… until the unthinkable happens.

In the middle of a lovely “birthday” celebration, Margaret Devereaux (Dana Delany) informs Dwight that she’s going on a work trip with Cal, and the next thing he hears is a sobbing Joanne (Annabella Sciorra) informing him that their flight has crashed over the Pacific.

With that, Cal and Margaret left, and according to Neal McDonough, he only saw one of these deaths coming. Here, the actor reacts to this fatal twist from the premiere.

Last time I talked to you, you were really excited about Cal’s gubernatorial victory and what it could mean. So, what was your reaction to learning of his fate in season 4?

Neil McDonough: I thought it was an excellent idea. This didn’t upset me at all. I was supposed to be there for one season, and I got a second season, and then part of a third season. And I got to play with the best sandbox, with the writing of Sly and Terry Winter, and of course Taylor Sheridan, and great actors like Frank Grillo and Dana… It was so much fun during the years I was there. To have a show that should keep the audience thinking (and) engaged, you have to do certain things. And Taylor is good at doing things that no one saw coming. No one saw the demise of Cal Thresher – especially after he finally won the governorship – that you’re not going to take him out, and he did. And I thought it was really great. Again, I’m so lucky to have been able to be on the show for this long. I don’t know how the public will react. I would like to see. I can’t wait to see how audiences react to Cal Thesher’s death after the first episode.

I think it’s going to be a surprise, but it’s also a little bittersweet in the sense that Cal gets to go out as a hero instead of going back to being a villain. So, for you, is it a bit cathartic? Just the fact that you know his final act is to refuse Amanda’s speech on data farming?

Yeah, I think, again, here’s this rich guy who hasn’t had to do much in his life, and he gets into the marijuana business, stupid. Cal says, “Why should I do that?” And then he hands the land over to Sly and says, “I’m leaving. I’ll see you around, Bill.” And that’s how I started a relationship with other characters, Sly in particular. It was a different pressure than what he was under when he started the show. He became a nicer, different guy, especially when he finally found something he was born to do: being a politician and standing up for the great state of Oklahoma. And he was going to work hard to make sure he did the right things for Oklahoma. Yes, he has had problems in the past and we need to resolve them. But he had no fear of talking to them because he knew he was on the right track, that he was finally doing something worthwhile with his life, and he was so excited about it. And yes, you are right. He was considered a hero, and I think if Cal died, he would die with a smile on his face, saying, “Oh, I did the right thing.” So I’m not upset at all about leaving the show. I took my course and had a great time doing it.

Steve Swisher/Paramount+

Just to play the pretend game, just a little bit, do you think if he had played and been governor for longer, he would have obeyed Dwight’s orders? Because it seemed like Dwight expected a lot of favors in return.

No, I don’t, and I think it’s probably… Could he have done something to bend some of the rules? Maybe. But he was really determined to do the right thing. This was a new chapter in his life, and he was going to do the best thing 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 to finally have something that led him to goodness in life. I will always smile when I think of Cal Thresher.

When we first meet Amanda, Gretchen Mol’s new character, she’s a bit serpentine in the first place. Do you think he was aware of her, that she could undermine him or turn her back on him?

No, he knew it all along. He could feel it. You could see it in the first scene we had. I tell myself, “Relax, sister. There’s something going on here that I don’t really like. I’ll come back to that later.” Maybe I should have gotten there faster. He doesn’t trust her from the start. I’m a politician, but I’ve always been in a position of power because of my wealth, right? So people talk to me differently. I talk to others differently. I understand things differently than most people. She is a politician who wants to do things for all the reasons she is in power. I think the reasons she’s in the office aren’t the most altruistic. So there’s something weird about her that I don’t trust and love from the start.

I thought I read that too, maybe that’s what you were doing. It’s also a goodbye for Dana. How much did you enjoy the dynamic these two developed? Because it started out a little acrimonious, but it 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’s only getting better, and it was harder for me when I was thinking, “OK, I see Cal dying, but why Dana?” Will she bounce back and participate in another show? Of course. But there’s something about Dana King of Tulsa it just seemed like it should be a constant and should never have ended. I knew my time was going to end because I knew the past would eventually catch up with me, bite me in the butt and lead to my demise. And I was waiting for it. I’m surprised it took this long. So I was very happy with that. But for Dana, I still don’t understand why. I’m sure they all have good reasons for that, but damn, she’s one of the most talented actresses I’ve ever worked with, and one of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with at the same time.

Steve Swisher/Paramount+

From this episode, the premiere, you will watch as a viewer. What are you looking forward to seeing as the story continues and develops King Frisco?

How much deeper and layered Sly can go. He’s a guy who works very hard on his character, and he’s always telling the truth about his character, always trying to find new answers and new things to do. TV can dry you out after a while because it’s always the same kind of thing. King of Tulsa is one of those shows where each season is completely different from the last. So I’m really interested to see how Sly, as Dwight, handles all these new obstacles, all these new challenges, all these new plot twists. And if anyone really wants to handle this well, it’s superstar Sylvester Stallone, and I keep saying, “For God’s sake, could the Emmys or the Golden Globes finally realize this?” If there’s a guy in television history who deserves it, look at the character he’s built. He writes the characters. He lives and breathes the characters. He’s the king of Tulsa. Give him this award because he absolutely deserves it. He’s amazing, and I’m so honored to have been able to work with him for this long and to be able to call him my friend. So I love Sly and I wish they would just give him the award.

Is there another Taylor Sheridan show that you watch in this universe that you’re like, “I want to be in that next time?”

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

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

We have Angel and the villain which comes out in theaters on October 8, a new western that I made with Tommy Lee Jones and Zach Levi for Angel Studios, which is simply brilliant. Then we have another film that we produced called Jimmythe Jimmy Stewart story, which Ruvé and I helped produce. It comes out November 6 and KJ Apa plays Jimmy Stewart, and he is absolutely perfect. And then afterwards, I make a film in Poland, this great Catholic film in Poland. I’m leaving…