'Mayor of Kingstown' Season 4 Premiere Review: Brutal Returns and Power Shifts in a Town That Never Learns
- Rachel
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
The gray skies over Kingstown are back, and with them comes a storm of blood, betrayal, and bureaucracy. Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 wastes absolutely no time reminding us that peace in this fictional Michigan town is as fragile as a parole promise. The premiere, titled “Coming ’Round the Mountain,” kicks the doors open with a shocking act of violence and a sharp reset that repositions the McLusky family in a fresh ring of hell.
This season opener finds Mike McLusky, played by the indestructible Jeremy Renner, balancing his trademark exhaustion and fury as the power structures around him collapse and rebuild yet again. With the Russian mob eliminated and a new warden shaking things up inside Anchor Bay, Mike’s empire of uneasy alliances begins to crumble. It’s the same twisted dance of corruption and compromise fans have come to love — only now, the tempo has increased and the stakes are personal.
A Killer Opening and a New Queen in Town
The episode opens with a scene that would make Ozark blush. Frank Moses, portrayed by Lennie James, decapitates a crew of Russian gangsters along the train tracks — a gruesome visual that instantly declares, “Welcome back to Kingstown, where happy endings don’t exist.” It’s bold, it’s ugly, and it’s exactly the energy this show thrives on.
Enter Edie Falco as Warden Nina Hobbs, the new sheriff of the prison-industrial complex that keeps Kingstown spinning. She arrives with a composed demeanor and a promise to end Mike’s informal influence. Her line, “This is my castle now,” lands like a warning shot. Hobbs is the kind of character who doesn’t need to raise her voice to be terrifying, and Falco’s calm ferocity makes her the perfect addition to this morally decayed world.
Mike’s Breaking Point and the Family Fallout
The premiere digs deep into the McLusky family’s chaos. Mike’s brother Kyle has been sentenced to prison after shooting a SWAT leader during the chaotic bridge shootout. The irony of a McLusky becoming an inmate isn’t lost on anyone, least of all Mike. Watching Kyle navigate the same world his brother manipulates from the outside adds a new layer of danger and irony that could define the season.
Inside, Kyle immediately learns that survival comes at a cost. His cellmate, Merle Callahan, oozes menace, and his first day behind bars turns bloody fast. The sense of claustrophobic dread inside the prison contrasts perfectly with Mike’s increasing desperation outside.
A Town That Refuses to Heal
Mayor of Kingstown continues to be a grim reflection of a broken system pretending to function. The show’s world remains dirty, desperate, and hypnotically watchable. Every alliance feels temporary, every promise feels like a lie, and every moment could explode into chaos. The Season 4 premiere doesn’t reinvent the formula, instead, it sharpens it.
Renner brings raw intensity to a character teetering on the edge of burnout. He plays Mike as a man who knows he can’t fix anything but can’t stop trying anyway. The writing keeps that contradiction alive, making him both hero and accomplice to Kingstown’s endless cycle of violence.
Final Verdict
The Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 premiere delivers everything fans expect, brutality, tension, and a lingering sense that no one in this town is getting out clean. With Edie Falco’s powerhouse presence shaking up the balance and Renner’s grounded performance anchoring the madness, the show feels revitalized without losing its grim soul.
If the rest of the season keeps this momentum, Kingstown’s descent into chaos might just be its best yet. For viewers who crave dark storytelling with heart and grime in equal measure, this premiere is proof that the king of bleak TV is back on his throne.
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