Mayor Of Kingstown: Taylor Sheridan’s 4-Season Thriller Deserves To Be As Big As Landman

Published Sep 6, 2026, 3:32 PM EDT Greg is a Lead TV Writer & Critic at Screen Rant with expertise in new streaming releases. He's published over 3000 articles at SR, including weekly recommendation guides and dozens of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. He previously worked in Development at ABC Television & Lawrence Bender Productions. Greg majored in Film Production at Chapman University's Dodge College. Greg also has years of broadcast TV production experience at major networks such as NBC, TNT, and ESPN. He currently lives in Greater Boston. Taylor Sheridan's 4-season crime thriller series deserves to be as big as his massive hit Landman, especially with its fifth and final season currently in development. Even though this series had a massive debut and broke streaming records on Paramount+ when it originally premiered back in 2021, it hasn't sustained as consistent a viewership base as Landman has throughout its first two seasons. That said, it deserves to be in the same conversation with Landman as one of the most well-crafted and binge-worthy Taylor Sheridan series. Mayor of Kingstown is one of Taylor Sheridan's best yet most overlooked shows. Led by Jeremy Renner, the dark crime thriller seems to live in the shadows of Sheridan's bigger, currently running series like Landman, Lioness, and even Tulsa King. With four seasons already made and a fifth on the way following a series-high season 4 outing, which earned a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, Mayor of Kingstown deserves just as much praise and popularity as Landman has received. In some ways, it's an even better show than Landman. Mayor Of Kingstown Is Taylor Sheridan's Best Crime Thriller Series Mayor of Kingstown is widely considered Taylor Sheridan's best crime thriller series, even though he isn't as directly involved in its production as he was during season 1. After co-creating the series with Hugh Dillon, who also stars as corrupt cop Ian Ferguson, and writing all ten episodes of season 1, Sheridan brought on Dave Erickson at the start of season 2 to serve as the showrunner of Mayor of Kingstown​​​​​​. Erickson and a team of talented writers extended Mayor of Kingstown to four phenomenal seasons, with Sheridan still credited as co-creator. Similar to other great crime dramas like Ray Donovan and MobLand, Mayor of Kingstown follows a respected and experienced fixer who is able to maintain peace and make problems go away. Renner's Mike McLusky, who the title refers to, scrambles around the fictional prison town of Kingstown, Michigan, which is based on Dillon's hometown of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Mike works hand in hand with the local police, including Ian and Mike's brother, Kyle (Taylor Handley). He also has his hands deep within the prison system through a fragile but mutually beneficial relationship with Bunny (Tobi Bamtefa), a kingpin and gang leader. Each season of Mayor of Kingstown brings with it a different slate of antagonists and problems Mike is forced to deal with, although his job is generally the same throughout the series as the city's powerful, shadowy mediator. Much of the action takes place inside the prison walls, where assassinations, riots, and other calculated moves play out, oftentimes as a response to the unfolding drama outside. Mike is far from perfect, and while his cause might seem noble, he is willing to do whatever it takes to stay in control and protect his loved ones, which often means getting his hands dirty. Mayor Of Kingstown Is More Action-Packed & Intense Than Landman Credit: Jeremy Parsons/Paramount+ One key difference between Mayor of Kingstown and Landman is the pace. As immersive as Landman can be, it can take some pretty big detours away from its central plot, specifically in season 2 with T.L.'s (Sam Elliott) numerous woeful monologues and Ainsley's (Michelle Randolph) awkward dorm room disputes. Compared to a series like Mayor of Kingstown, which features razor-sharp editing, fast-moving storytelling, and intense, action-packed scenes in every episode, Landman is arguably less engaging or built for a nonstop binge-watch. Landman season 1 was notably much more of a crime thriller than season 2 was, which some viewers have found to be disappointing. Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris was constantly in the crossfire of the Mexican cartel, who were much less involved in season 2, and was frantically dealing with various work-related issues both in offices and out in the oil fields. Landman has become more of a corporate/workplace drama and a family drama in season 2, and yet it set a Paramount+ finale record with 14.8 million global views in its first two days. Landman may be more popular, but Mayor of Kingstown deserves more praise and viewership in its final season.