Taylor Sheridan's 10/10 Crime Thriller Masterpiece Keeps Getting Better After 5 Years

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Greg is a Lead TV Writer & Critic at Screen Rant who also covers Movies and Music. He's published over 2500 articles at SR, including weekly binge 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.

Five years after its unforgettable series premiere, Taylor Sheridan's crime thriller masterpiece series keeps getting better. Now four seasons into this acclaimed yet overlooked Paramount+ series, there's a very strong case that this is now Sheridan's best-ever show.

This series debuted with one of the worst-rated series in Sheridan's TV arsenal on Paramount+, getting hit with an abysmal 33% Rotten Tomatoes score. Each new season has shown measurable refinement, resulting in increased critical approval leading to a perfectly-rated fourth season in 2025, which earned a rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Mayor Of Kingstown Is Taylor Sheridan's Most Improved Show

Mayor of Kingstown was one of the best crime thrillers released in 2025 and is a must-binge series on Paramount+ thanks to an unlikely and somewhat remarkable series turnaround. Starring Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky, a fixer and peacekeeper in a corrupt Michigan prison town, Mayor of Kingstown has evolved since its 2021 premiere to become a lean, gripping, and truly can't-miss series on Paramount+.

The apparent rebirth of this crime thriller can be attributed to many key factors, but not necessarily Sheridan's masterful vision. Season 4 in particular added new characters played by big-name actors such as Edie Falco and promising supporting acts like Laura Benanti, who previously worked together on the Emmy-winning Showtime series Nurse Jackie.

The creative direction and writing, however, were the most outstanding improvement in Mayor of Kingstown season 4. Showrunner and executive producer Dave Erickson deserves credit for this, as well as original series co-creator Hugh Dillon, who also plays one of the show's best and hilariously despicable characters, Ian Ferguson, and is from the real-life Canadian prison town that inspired the story.

While individual credit is certainly due, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts with Mayor of Kingstown season 4. Performances across the board are convincing and magnetic. The premise is the best of any MoK season thus far, leading to unexpected twists, hard-boiled suspense, and a total sense of gritty and grim immersion for all crime thriller fans.

Mayor Of Kingstown Deserves More Than An 8-Part Final Season

Richard Brake as Merle Callahan in Mayor of Kingstown episode 7, season 4

Following its all-time high fourth season, which also got better with each new episode and built towards a mind-blowing finale, Mayor of Kingstown season 5 was renewed for a fifth and final season with some caveats. Firstly, the final season will only have 8 episodes, a 20% reduction from its standard 10-episode run it enjoyed from seasons 1–4.

Secondly, there was previous speculation that Mayor of Kingstown could continue for as many as seven seasons. Sheridan envisioned an inevitable series ending for MoK before season 1 was even released, and that is positioned to arrive sometime later this year, or potentially 2027. Had Paramount not changed leadership after the Skydance merger, resulting in Sheridan moving to NBCUniversal in 2029, there could very well have been a Mayor of Kingstown season 6 or 7.

The masterful execution of season 4 essentially demanded a fifth season for Mayor of Kingstown, but longtime fans may still feel a bit robbed when this series has shown no signs of slowing down. A reduced fifth season is certainly better than nothing, but Sheridan's most improved series – and one of 2025's best shows – deserves more than what Paramount+ is offering.