The Writings of John Ryan Sullivan

(This post contains mild spoilers)

As my previous post may indicate I enjoyed the show Landman and given that I have a Paramount Plus subscription for two months I thought I would look at their other offerings. I’ve been aware of Mayor of Kingstown since it first aired and I’ve been curious as to what it is. As I mentioned in my Landman post I feel these shows have lackluster trailers and watching them provides little information.

Since watching the three available seasons of Mayor of Kingstown I have seen reviews and articles comparing it to other shows. Mare of Easttown being the most referenced. Mayor of Kingstown has many influences that are apparent, including The Wire and Oz. All of which I think would be helpful to know before watching the show. What none of them conveys is the absolute bleakness of Mayor of Kingstown.

The pilot episode begins with two brothers working as go-betweens for the police, prison guards and prison inmates for the town of Kingstown. Kyle Chandler plays Mitch McLusky, who is the unofficial mayor of Kingstown – in that he’s the guy who can get things done using whispers in a friendly ear and backchannels.

This is an interesting premise, I certainly have not seen this show before and Kyle Chandler may be the most under appreciated actor working today. Watching him be charming and smug, maneuvering others in order to keep the peace of Kingstown was an unexpected delight in the pilot episode.

Alas, it was not meant to be. By episode two he is no longer in the show. The main character, Michael McLusky, played by Jeremy Renner now finds himself trying to fill the shoes of his older brother. It’s an ill fit and even the character recognizes that.

Over the course of the three seasons we get to know several characters well and one of the great achievements of Mayor of Kingstown is convincing the viewers that any of these people are good or likable. I sincerely mean that as a compliment. Aside from Dianne Weist’s character, Miriam McLusky, everyone on this show is morally/ethically/spiritually/legally compromised to such a degree that you come to find the gang leaders warm and fuzzy in their own way (except Rebecca who in many ways reminds me of Marilyn from Northern in Exposure for being perfect in every way).

As I mentioned at the start the show is bleak. I’ve seen plenty of dark, angsty things in my time and few are as hopeless and defeatist as Mayor of Kingstown. The premise of the show, that a town with multiple prisons means everyone who lives there is tied to them in some way, is upfront about this. Many of the issues the prison industrial complex presents are faced, head-on, in Mayor of Kingston.

Which is my roundabout way of saying I understand and appreciate the bleakness, as it feels correct with the story being told. That being said there are few moments of hope or happiness to be found in three seasons and that can make one’s soul weary. I certainly found myself taking breaks, going for a walk and looking at the sunset while watching this show, trying to remind myself that there are in fact nice things in life.

I’d like to conclude with a few words about why I think this is a show worth watching.

First and foremost, Jeremy Renner. In terms of casting, Mayor of Kingstown seems to be on par with the rest of Taylor Sheridan’s shows -exceptional. The character of Michael McLusky is meant to be complicated, not entirely qualified for the role he’s being forced to play and morally grey. For those familiar with Mr. Renner’s work outside of the M.C.U. it is not surprising to see him excel in this role. The backstory of being a former inmate himself, now trying to negotiate with all sides (and getting everyone to do what they should do) makes for interesting and rewarding conflicts.

Co-creator of the show and one of several key supporting actors, Hugh Dillion, starts out as a foul-mouthed detective that I wondered why he relied on the McLusky’s so heavily. By the end of season one, because of the incredible performance Mr. Dillion gives, it no longer occurred to me to question his need to work with the Mayor of Kingstown. It’s an interesting role and the season three character arc alone makes it clear that Ian (Mr. Dillion’s character) could easily have his own episodes.

The other supporting actor I’d like to mention (although there are many who deserve it) is Tobi Bamtefa playing “Bunny”. I felt the same way about Bunny as I did about Ian in the beginning, you understood there was a formula to the show and that each of these characters had their place. The bad thing happens and Michael goes to his police buddies. They yell, tell him he needs to get control of the drug dealers (or gang members – which is complicated because Bunny is a drug dealer who is the outside connection for the Crips gang inside the prison) and then Michael makes his way to Bunny. Where a similar conversation occurs, Michael telling everyone they need to be smart and not do the violent/crazy/logical but wrong thing they want to do.

What comes to pass, and when exactly I could not tell you, is somehow these interactions stop feeling so transactional (and necessary for the plot to develop) and have a sense of realness to them that grounds the show. There is a push-pull dynamic to the Michael/Bunny relationship that doesn’t feel like fiction. These are two men who come to have respect for one another and even discover shared interests.

So, yes, this show is terribly bleak and most of the characters utter a line like, “This town, nothing good in it. Gotta get out of here!” every episode. And most of the time if you come to like a character or think a change will be good for them, it won’t. But. I would say after three seasons of watching I find myself rooting for most of the people on screen. Not all of them, some are truly terrible human beings. But most, despite their inability to make better choices or remove themselves for situations and people that cause them harm, I root for.

And given who many of these characters are and what I have seen them do, that is an impressive feat. The storytelling in Mayor of Kingstown is exceptional. During the first two seasons most of Miriam McClusky’s scenes are asides, things not essential for the overall story being told. Yet they provide a connective tissue between the other characters, sometimes overtly, sometimes not. It’s a finely crafted show and I find myself enjoying it, despite the bleakness, because the people making it care so much. You can feel that it matters to them and that, in turn, makes it matter to me.

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(the following regards season four and was written in June 2026)

I’ve debated adding this section for months as it feels weird to add on to an existing post. Creating a new post feels equally odd especially since my thoughts on season four are not, largely, positive.

As I am striving to share only things I like and enjoy it is difficult to say much about season four. Given that this post seems to generate a good deal of interest and I have seen the latest season I’ve decided to add a few tidbits.

First and foremost – I don’t know what happened with this show. What began as a character study of a person thrust into a situation he neither desired nor felt qualified for has morphed into…television.

I don’t want to say they have run out of ideas for Mayor of Kingston but, to me, it feels as though the current ideas are being written by people who were either not involved with the first seasons or have forgotten them.

Many of the complex relationships, unsteady alliances and even storylines have been jettisoned or reworked so that I find myself questioning my memory of what came before.

Let me be clear though – I think the actors of this show are doing tremendous work. When looking for images to add to this post I found myself remembering moments from season four that are tremendous. I am being picky making the negative comments about this season because I have been so spoiled with the excellence of this series.

If you are seeking closure on certain characters (Iris) or development of others (Tracy, Rebecca, Evelyn, Robert) I regret to inform you that is not forthcoming. While I can appreciate some characters being intentionally secondary (Rebecca reminds me of so many amazing television characters that you want more of and know you will never get) the treatment of others feels like the real world (the actor has other commitments or agreements the kept them from returning) intruding on the story being told.

Season for has two new important characters and by the end of the season I don’t think either matter anymore. Our central characters are put through the ringer for, as far as I can tell, no purpose and we have more misery and tragedy than we can shake a stick at.

As I concluded originally, the Miriam McClusky character was a wonderful, non-essential (plot-wise) aspect of the show. Often with television and film I find characters like this to be the glue, somehow elevating the story with their tangents and asides. Since her departure (and Iris’) I would argue no one has replaced them and I feel the show suffers for the loss.

Season four has few moments of hope, no levity and left me feeling bleak and empty. Perhaps I am, personally, in a state where that is too much but if so I cannot imagine I am the only one. As always I think of the message of the film, ‘Sullivan’s Travels’ which is – the people watching this aren’t looking for bleakness and despair and what the filmmaker’s consider ‘reality’. They already have those things and live them. They are looking to be entertained and to have a good time.

I don’t believe everything we watch and read needs to be rainbows and puppies. I do think most of us have our fill of dread and despair and if there isn’t a reason for the pain and the misery in our stories then we walk away dissatisfied and unfulfilled.

Which is a lousy way to end a post about a great television show that I will watch more of. If I had watched all four seasons continually would I feel the way I do? I can’t say. I can say that the level of unpleasantness and misery in season four felt cruel and a bit too far. The fate of some characters seemed necessary if upsetting. Others…

Let me conclude by restating a previous point – this is an excellent show. Whatever my gripes are about the story of season four all of the other aspects (acting, cinematography, editing, etc.) are nothing short of incredible. This is such a well-made and acted show that to write anything that isn’t praise is causing me pain. I just want to love it.

Hopefully this addition isn’t a mistake, I certainly don’t want to put anyone off of Mayor of Kingstown. It has been months since I watched the fourth season and until I started writing I had thought my feelings had mellowed. I can see now they have not. At some point I will watch season four again and perhaps find my feelings have changed. Recently with Dr. Brain and One Battle After Another I found this to be true. One can hope.