The second season of Mayor Of Kingstown made its debut in 2023. It is a crime thriller created by Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon that streamed to Paramount Plus.

Following the events of the prison riot, prison advocate and unofficial mayor of Kingstown Mike McClusky (Jeremy Renner) is having to deal with the fallout. The prisoners are forced to live in a tent city prison and his younger brother Kyle (Taylor Handley) is getting hounded by internal affairs. Mike makes a deal that jails the local gang leaders including his ally Bunny (Tobi Bamtefa). Things go sideways when the local district attorney betrays the deal, leading Mike to take desperate actions to maintain order in his city.

This season raises the stakes. I enjoyed the first season a great deal and I did not know where it would go. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. It ramped up the intrigue and chaos of the previous season, building onto it in a way you did not expect.

Watching Mike struggle to maintain order, his brother struggle in his marriage, and their mother cope with almost losing both of them made for some compelling television drama. That does not even include the clashes between the gangs and the police. It brought out something you did not expect.

There is a boring subplot where KCPD detective Ian Ferguson, played by series co-creator Hugh Dillion, connects with an incarcerated serial killer. I thought this could have been handled better, even with its connection to the overall plot.

I also thought Iris was underused in this season. She was just there to provide a link to her boss and Mike but did not stand out like she did in season one. This is not the fault of the actress, but the showrunners.

With this in mind, I still found Mike’s quest to maintain order in his city to be thrilling. This show raises the stakes for Mike and his allies. You do not see all of the twists and turns, especially with the connections to the underworld. It is a compelling series that not a lot of people are talking about.

Check out the trailer below:

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Heavy foul language, Extreme Violence, Substance abuse, Sexual content including nudity

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