Taylor Sheridan’s 4-Season Crime Thriller Holds A Shocking Rotten Tomatoes Record

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Despite being popular with viewers, Taylor Sheridan’s crime drama Mayor of Kingstown hasn’t received much praise from critics, as reflected in its low score on Rotten Tomatoes. The show recently began its fourth season and continues to deliver shocking moments for its audience.

As a big fan of Taylor Sheridan’s work, I wasn’t surprised that season 4 of Mayor of Kingstown hit the ground running – and brutally so! They didn’t hold back, killing off a major character in just the third episode, keeping that really intense, gritty feel we’ve come to expect from the show. It’s a vibe that runs through a lot of his series, though Tulsa King is probably the exception – it’s still packed with violence, but definitely has a lighter touch overall.

I’m a big fan of Taylor Sheridan’s shows, and while Mayor of Kingstown definitely feels like it fits into his world, it really does its own thing. It’s not another Western like Yellowstone and all those spin-offs. And even though Tulsa King has some Western elements, Mayor of Kingstown is just a solid, straight-up crime drama, which I appreciate.

Mayor of Kingstown Has Taylor Sheridan’s Worst Rotten Tomatoes Score So Far

Despite its strengths, Mayor of Kingstown isn’t the most critically acclaimed show from Taylor Sheridan. It currently has a 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it his lowest-rated series so far. The show centers on Mike McLusky, played by Jeremy Renner, who works as a negotiator between the various criminal groups operating in Kingstown.

As a big fan of crime dramas, I really wanted to get into Mayor of Kingstown. It definitely tries to tackle some interesting ideas about how prisons and the whole justice system can actually create more crime and corruption. But honestly, it fell into the same trap a lot of these shows do. It was just… relentlessly bleak. Like Low Winter Sun before it, it was so grim and depressing that even though the premise was good, it was hard to stay engaged. Critics, myself included, just found it too much of a downer.

Reviewers found it hard to connect with characters who didn’t seem motivated or engaged, and felt the show’s frequent violence became desensitizing rather than exciting. Ratings declined in the second season, falling to as low as 50%, but saw some improvement in the third season.

Despite getting even grimmer in its fourth season, Mayor of Kingstown continued to draw a large audience. Taylor Sheridan has always been a bit of a controversial figure with critics – his 2018 film Sicario: Day of the Soldado wasn’t well-received – but viewers consistently enjoy his work.

Why Mayor of Kingstown Struggled With Critics

Dennis P. Mong Jr. / Paramount +

Although his 2021 thriller, Those Who Wish Me Dead, didn’t receive great reviews or attract a large audience, his popular shows Yellowstone and 1883 maintained huge viewership despite receiving mixed feedback. More recently, Lioness faced similar critical struggles as Mayor of Kingstown, achieving a score of just 56% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Although some critics found Lioness to be lacking in excitement and tension, Mayor of Kingstown faced a different problem. Season one struggled because it felt unoriginal, and many viewers compared it negatively to highly-regarded shows like The Wire, The Shield, and We Own This City.

All three of those shows explored corruption within both the police and criminal organizations. However, reviewers felt they were more innovative than the first season of Mayor of Kingstown. While Mayor of Kingstown featured particularly strong villains – some of the best in Taylor Sheridan’s work – compelling antagonists alone weren’t enough to fully capture and hold the audience’s attention.

One of the things that made The Wire so remarkable was how smoothly it shifted focus between different characters, building a detailed and believable world. The Shield was also impressive in its ability to make viewers care about flawed, even awful, police officers – a choice that meant the show didn’t have any clear-cut heroes.

Mayor of Kingstown’s Critical Struggles Haven’t Hurt Its Popularity

Even so, people remained invested in the story of The Shield, which received widespread critical praise during its time on air. However, critics felt that Mayor of Kingstown shied away from the complex issues explored by those earlier shows, instead focusing on intense action and a bleak atmosphere to mask a lack of substance.

Despite its low score on Rotten Tomatoes, Mayor of Kingstown isn’t going anywhere. It remains one of Taylor Sheridan’s most popular shows, just like Tulsa King and the expanding Yellowstone franchise. This is particularly impressive given how many shows Sheridan produces and how well they perform.

It’s not surprising if the show Mayor of Kingstown ends on its own terms, even if it’s eventually canceled. Despite some negative reviews, the show has a loyal audience that has consistently tuned in over the past four years, so there’s no immediate cause for concern about its future.

As much as I’d love to see Mayor of Kingstown really dig into its characters – like some of the other shows it seems to borrow from – it might still fall a little short for those of us who crave that depth. But honestly? As a big Taylor Sheridan fan, I’m still completely hooked, and it seems like a lot of other people who appreciate his work feel the same way, regardless of what the critics are saying.

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2025-11-13 22:09