Jonathan Tucker Says It’s ‘Immensely Gratifying’ To See Kingdom’s Netflix Success

Three years after its series finale aired, the MMA fighter drama “Kingdom” finally came to Netflix — and found new life in the process.

As the series racks up new fans thanks to its streaming debut after three seasons on DirectTV, star Jonathan Tucker says it’s a slightly bittersweet feeling.

“It’s immensely gratifying,” he told TooFab, before adding, “To be transparent, there’s probably a slight bit of frustration.”

The frustration, he explained, is on behalf of the show’s many cheerleaders, who tried to get their friends, family or, in the case of some journalists, readers to get on board while it was still on the air.

“I feel frustrated for them. I feel frustrated for all these people who are like, ‘Watch the show! Watch the show!'” said Tucker. “But I think it speaks to how we’re watching television now on these different platforms, and it is confirming that there are stories out there like Kingdom’s that are reflecting the subcultures. That are reflecting other worlds we don’t really have a lot of experience out there. That is actually unifying too.”

He said the show was an entry point for the MMA culture for a lot of viewers, many of whom probably “had a very different idea of what that world is like until they watched it.”

“And this is where we start to talk about what stories have not been told for various reasons,” he continued, “and sometimes these executives are shocked to learn that you can tell a really small story about a very small subset that actually ends up having a powerful impact if you watch it.”

While Tucker clearly thinks it’s great the show is still expanding its fan base, he’s happy to put one part of working on series behind him: all the grueling workouts to play Jay Kulina.

“It’s so nice to come home and not have a cup of coffee at 10pm and actually just scrummage through the refrigerator and eat whatever I decide to,” he said. “I’m pretty disciplined, but going to the gym at 10:00 at night after a long day of work is brutal. It’s just brutal.”

“But self-discipline is really the lynchpin to freedom in everywhere that I can view, and that show taught me so much about who I am and what I’m capable of,” he added.

“And I think that’s really what people ultimately start finding in the physicality of their lives that we are this, this and we’re this,” he continued, pointing to his head, heart and muscles, “and you need to start toggling between the three of them and figuring out how they’re connected.”

Tucker currently stars on “Debris,” airing Mondays on NBC.