‘Mayor Of Kingstown’ Season 4: Jeremy Renner & Edie Falco On Explosive Chess Matches, Hawkeye, & Whether ‘Nurse Jackie’ Lives Again [Bingeworthy Podcast]

Kingstown never sleeps. It snarls. It churns. It eats the weak. With “Mayor of Kingstown” returning for Season 4, the Paramount+ thriller doubles down on the brutal machinery of power, corruption, and survival that has defined the series from the beginning. But this year, something shifts. A storm hits the city in the form of Edie Falco, who joins the show as Nina Hobbs, the new prison warden and a razor-sharp antagonist to Jeremy Renner’s battered fixer, Mike McLusky.

Joining Bingeworthy for this episode are Jeremy Renner and Edie Falco, who break down the fierce chess match between Mike and Nina, the sense of doom that defines their characters, and the existential question haunting this season.

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Renner said the fun of their dynamic comes from how quickly civility slips into threat. He explained that their very first exchange set the tone for the rest of the conversation. “From our first scene, it’s like the lightest version of that, but it does just keep going, that chess match. But it’s really good writing, and when it’s not, we fix it. And the job’s easy, and it becomes fun when you have really talented people to work with. You can really find nuances in things and not be like it’s just posturing. It becomes a really wonderful dance.” He added that beneath the barbs, both characters genuinely want some level of cooperation. “We are not playing like we hate each other. We want to work through this, but this is what I have to do.”

Falco said Nina approaches nearly every exchange with a mission-first mentality. “She’s going with ‘this is what needs to be. This is what needs to happen.’ And whatever comes out of her mouth is towards that end,” she explained. “He’s going to throw in all kinds of roadblocks, and she just is going to knock them out of the way because she’s got a job to do. We started out hoping this would be a little more congenial, and it always turns into a bit of a fight that I think maybe she’s hoping won’t happen each time, but it ends up… we’re formidable foes.”

One of the season’s surprises is how often the cast is discovering things in real time. Renner said the sheer complexity of the narrative means they rarely see too far ahead. “Most of the time, we don’t know the answers to what’s going to happen. We shoot in blocks of one and two, three and four, five and six, but we still barely know what’s happening outside the scene that we’re in because so much is going on,” he said. “A lot of times we’re like, do we ever look like that? Do you know what happens in episode eight? Nope. So we have to play the real truth and play what’s in front of us.”

Season 4 also introduces a new wave of performers, with characters played by Lenny James, Laura Benanti, Clayton Cardenas, and Falco reshaping the show’s landscape. For Renner, the biggest shift is emotional. “The stakes are very high because his brother is being incarcerated. Audiences know his brother and love his brother. They are going to have a lot of anxiety with him going into prison because this is the worst world for him,” he said. “Then to have Mike’s biggest obstacle come into play, that is the biggest sort of through line through the entire season. Edie’s character makes a huge presence.”

The conversation turned to the soul of the show. Mike and Nina are characters trapped in cycles that offer almost no hope. Asked why they keep going, Renner said they are built for the world they inhabit. “I don’t think there is a real answer. These characters have to live in that world. Otherwise, you think they are gonna go to Mexico and drink a margarita. They thrive in this kind of world,” he said. “Even though it seems futile, it is a necessity. And this is why we watch it.” Falco added with a shrug, “It’s all I know.”

Renner also reflected on whether an endgame exists for the series. “We are just telling you a longer movie. It’s always considered,” he said. “But we have time and lives and families and other things, and I gotta worry about my health. But we do consider it. It’s up to the audience wanting it. Paramount says, ‘Let’s keep going,’ and then it’s up to us. The narrative side, it’s always planned out. There’s an end to it.”

The interview also touched on Falco’s long-rumored return to “Nurse Jackie,” a sequel series first floated in 2022. According to Falco, the project is nowhere near real production. “You know more than I do. That’s the nature of this business. You hear things, and then you stop, and then you hear more, and then you hear it’s already happened even though you’re supposed to be in it,” she said. “I have no idea.” Her tone made it clear that whatever the internet believes has been greenlit, nothing is close to cameras rolling.

Naturally, Renner was asked about returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hawkeye and what part of Clint Barton still feels unfinished. Renner said the character’s emotional core remains his favorite part to explore. “I really enjoyed doing the series version because it was a bit more intimate and had family dynamic, which is always a huge part of which I think sort of Clint’s kind of superpower is,” he explained. “He is such a human side of being a superhero. He’s one of the few. But I think his superpower is that sort of grit of the human condition, that is, loyalty and family. Otherwise, what are you fighting for?” Renner also confirmed that there have been real movements at times on follow-ups. “We were trying to do a second season. I think I will get strong enough to be able to do it. We will work it out. It’s going to be great.”

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Renner also opened up about the physical challenge of returning for Season 3 of “Mayor of Kingstown” after his life-threatening accident on New Year’s Day 2023, where he was run over by a snowplow while trying to save his nephew, calling that run “the struggle season.” “This was a lot different. I got a lot of strength, and we kicked it off right. Season 3 was bleak in the beginning, but we got through it,” Renner said. “This season was a lot more fun. I lived more in the moment because there was so much happening. It changed me as an actor.”

Season 4 of “Mayor of Kingstown” premiered on October 26 on Paramount+ and runs through the end of December. You can listen to the entire conversation with Jeremy Renner and Edie Falco below:

The Playlist Presents: Jeremy Renner & Edie Falco’s Film & TV Recommendation Playlist

• “Task” (Edie’s Pick)

• “One Battle After Another” (Edie’s Pick)

• “The Alabama Solution” (Jeremy’s Pick)

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