Paramount Plus Sets Huge Premiere for ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ Season 4 With Jeremy Renner
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for the Season 4 premiere of “Mayor of Kingstown.” The Paramount Plus hit, “Mayor of Kingstown,” has always been a pressure cooker, but the season 4 premiere, “Coming ‘Round the Mountain,” cranks the heat to a whole new level.
Parmount Plus: Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 Premiere Turns Up the Heat
After the gut-wrenching finale of season 3, where several key players were wiped off the board, fans were left wondering how the show could possibly recover. Well, if this first episode is any indication, the creative team didn’t just plug the holes—they blew them wide open to build something even more chaotic and compelling.
The episode kicks off not long after the bloody bridge shootout, and the fallout is immediate and devastating. The central conflict revolves around Kyle McLusky (Taylor Handley) taking a plea deal. He’s heading to prison to protect not just Robert, but the entire corrupt ecosystem of the Kingstown PD.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for everyone, especially Stevie, but as Ian (Hugh Dillon) bluntly points out, Kyle is falling on the sword to save them all. What follows is a tense, heartbreaking countdown to Kyle’s incarceration, a journey that Mike (Jeremy Renner) is forced to watch, powerless. The show has a grim predictability at times; you just knew Kyle wouldn’t be safe for long inside Anchor Bay prison.
But even when you see it coming, the punch still lands hard. The dynamic between the McLusky brothers has always been the heart of “Mayor of Kingstown,” and here, it’s raw and exposed. Renner delivers a powerhouse performance, carrying the weight of Kingstown on his shoulders. You can feel Mike’s agonizing inner conflict: he’s the “mayor,” the fixer who keeps the peace, yet he can’t save his own brother.
It’s a failure that eats him alive, and Renner portrays this with a quiet, simmering intensity that’s absolutely magnetic. On the flip side, Handley gives Kyle a quiet dignity in his downfall. Mike calls him the “one good man” in the city, and now that man is walking willingly into the belly of the beast.
How Does Season 4 Raise the Stakes?
According to Prime Timer, the “Mayor of Kingstown” season 4 reads, “Mike’s control over Kingstown is threatened as new players compete to fill the power vaccum left in the Russians’ wake, compelling him to confront the resulting gang war and stop them from swallowing the town. Meanwhile, with those he loves in more danger than ever before, Mike must contend with a headstrong new warden to protect his own while grappling with demons from his past.”
Renner says that fans will have a lot to take in this season. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Renner said, “It’s a very complicated show. Even four episodes in, there is a lot that goes on, man. It’s pretty intense. And because there’s a lot going on and it’s a complicated season I, like Edie, just focused on every scene. You get all the scripts, but it’s too much information that I felt I shouldn’t be privy to. I think it over complicates it. We really had to focus on the task at hand, the scene at hand.”
While the McLusky drama is front and center in “Mayor of Kingstown,” the premiere masterfully introduces new blood to fill the void left by last season’s deaths. The casting department deserves a standing ovation. We’re introduced to Frank Moses, a new villain played by the incredible Lennie James (The Walking Dead). In a chilling opening scene, he introduces himself to Kingstown by executing the last of the Russian mob with a locomotive.
It’s brutal, creative, and sets the tone perfectly. James has the gravitas to go toe-to-toe with Renner, and his arrival signals a new, terrifying chapter for the city. Then there’s Edie Falco (The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie) as Nina Hobbs, the new warden of Anchor Bay. She’s not interested in Mike’s backroom deals or his unofficial title.
She’s all business, creating a new, formidable obstacle for Mike as he tries to protect Kyle from the inside. Falco is a force of nature, and putting her opposite Renner is a stroke of genius. Laura Benanti (Law & Order: SVU) also joins as a new correctional officer, and her character feels poised to offer a fresh perspective on the brutal realities of the prison system.
Final Thoughts
“Mayor of Kingstown” is a show that refuses to play it safe, constantly evolving and pushing its characters to their breaking points. The premiere episode isn’t just about setting up new plotlines; it’s a deep dive into the emotional core of the series—family, loyalty, and the impossible choices made in a city where morality is a luxury few can afford.
