Netflix's first Oscar-nominated feature is a hidden treasure — and 9 years later, its relevance and message burn as brightly as ever

This was the movie that gave Netflix's reputation as a filmmaker a definite push in the right direction, something that had been on the cards for a while.

The streamer had started making its own original movies in 2013, with its first feature, Beasts Of No Nation, launching two years later, but it wasn’t until the arrival of Mudbound (2017) that it was seen as an awards contender.

For the first time, one of its feature films was an Oscar nominee. Based on Hillary Jordan's international bestseller of the same name, Mudbound was in the running for four accolades at the 2018 ceremony — Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song, and Cinematography — and, while none of them translated into wins, there was a sense of the streamer having moved into new territory.

The movie fared better at the Independent Spirit Awards, where it scooped Best Ensemble for an impressive line-up that included Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Mary J Blige, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Jonathan Banks and an up-and-coming Kelvin Harrison Jnr.

The saga of two families in the Jim Crow South had a pair of World War Two veterans — one white, one black — at its core. Returning to their hometown in rural Mississippi after the horrors of battle, they find little has changed, and it’s a place unfit for heroes.

The two are both friends and neighbours. Jamie McAllan (Hedlund) returns to live with his brother Henry (Clarke) and his wife Laura (Mulligan), who share their home with their vociferously racist Pappy (Banks).

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The family’s neighbours are the Jacksons, black tenant farmers whose eldest son, Ronsel (Mitchell), served alongside Jamie. Parents Hap (Morgan) and Florence (Blige) work the cotton field and dream of owning their own land, but social attitudes, as well as the law itself, stand in the way of their ambitions and the friendship between their sons.

Dee Rees directs with passion, adapting the expansive, powerful and ultimately tragic story with skill and a lingering sense of despair and outrage. Coupled with memorably striking images courtesy of cinematographer Rachel Morrison, the movie was widely praised both at its premiere at Sundance and later when it arrived on Netflix, receiving a massive 97% rating from Rotten Tomatoes. It also struck a chord with audiences both in cinemas and online and nine years later, its relevance and message burn as brightly as ever.

One of the most familiar faces in the cast is Garrett Hedlund, now very much a regular in Paramount Plus’s Tulsa King. Fronted by Sylvester Stallone and originally developed by Taylor Sheridan, the show was eventually greenlit recently for a third season, following a drip feed of hints from Stallone himself.

He plays Dwight Manfredi, known to everybody as The General, a New York mafia capo who emerges from a long stint in prison only to be exiled in Tulsa, where he starts to build a whole new criminal empire. By the time season two’s finale aired, his influence had spread and he’d eliminated a handful of dangerous threats. But others still remained, leaving the door wide open for a third outing — and potentially even more deadly enemies.

Hedlund’s character, Mitch Keller, has been in Tulsa King since its debut in 2022, and came to the fore in the second season. A former convict and now a singer, songwriter and barman, he’d garnered enough power by the end of the second outing to stand alongside Stallone’s Dwight in the gang, as well as acting as a father figure to some of the other members.

What this means for the forthcoming season remains to be seen, although Hedlund is already confirmed as returning, as are co-stars Frank Grillo, Martin Starr, Jay Will, Annabella Sciorra and Dana Delany.

And the show’s star power gets a boost with new cast members Robert Patrick (Terminator 2) as a liquor baron and Beau Knapp (SEAL Team) as his son, both of whom are likely to make Dwight’s life even more complicated. It goes without saying that Stallone will be back as Dwight and, with production already underway, he’s recently shared a sneak preview on Instagram.

A suited and booted Stallone stands outside a New York storefront and his caption confirms he was filming in The Big Apple, although he gives nothing away about exactly why The General is in New York.

While the launch date for season three hasn’t been announced, the end of this year or early 2026 looks most likely. The second season was even more successful than the first, not missing a beat and with plots like full-on hairpin bends instead of mere twists and turns. It’s a lot to live up to but as the story heads off in different directions, the characters develop, and new faces arrive to add spice to the mix, the prospects are nothing short of lip-smacking.

Mudbound is on Netflix in the US and UK.

Tulsa King seasons 1 and 2 are on Paramount Plus in the US and UK.