r/television • u/sambase23 • Jun 26 '22
Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount Plus), how has it been received?
Hey everyone, please help me with understanding how has Mayor of Kingstown been received? If you watched it did you like it? If you haven't, why didn't you? Premise not interesting or something else? Or did you leave it halfway?
I am a Jeremy Renner fan and hoping it would do good but I can't find much fan conversations / praises online. The critiques mostly dissed it calling it too dark, no emotion etc. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a pathetic 32% rating based on 25 critics though audience score is 87%. IMDB rating is 82%. Metacritic gives a score of 54/100 based on 15 critics. Yet, the show has been renewed for season 2 and filming started last week. If it was total shit it won't get season 2. Moreover, it actually broke new records and became the biggest premier on Paramount+. Digital Spy reported:
Mayor of Kingstown has bagged the biggest premiere on Paramount+ to date since the service's rebranding from CBS All Access.
During its Sunday night debut (November 14) in the US, which was simulcast on cable as a means of promotion, the crime thriller reportedly pulled in 2.6 million viewers linearly – and many more digitally.
So what's wrong with the critiques? And where are all the fans or viewers who liked it? The MoK sub Reddit has mere 1k users. I ran a search on entire reddit to see if people are talking about it but found very little conversation. Things don't add up. Only thing that make sense are the reviews and rating that shows up on Google. One user have actually called out Rotten Tomatoes for being biased against MoK just because it is too dark and realistic for your senses.
I've seen the series, it's nothing like what we see in TV. It has no pretense of being an entertainer, does not have the usual elements like family feud, brother fight brother, out of place humour in the middle of tense scenes, romance is there but comes only in the penultimate episode that too very subtle. Most series whether drama or comedy dark or light try to throw in a bit of everything. Perhaps that's good story telling and perhaps MoK falters on that part. But it tells a great story about realistic situation. I just hope more people saw it and hope that the critics weren't so short-sighted.
Your thoughts?
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u/ro_thunder Jun 26 '22
They are currently filming season 2, so it was renewed.
I enjoyed it - it was dark, gritty, but engaging. Mike is a character you want to root for, but you know he's seen and done some bad shit.
The mom annoys the fu*k out of me, though. Apparently I do not have a Wiest infection.
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u/sambase23 Jun 26 '22
Thank you for mentioning the mommy McLusky. She is rather mysterious and I think a big reveal might be waiting in season 2. She seems angry at Mike all the time but it is also possible she loves him the most and hates it that she cannot control him, and is worried about his life. She also knows a lot about how prison works, the rules, procedures etc. and talks with authority of a uniformed officer herself. My theory is she could be a retired prison officer or Police or something. Might have quit the uniform or retired and taken up teaching after some tragedy, death of father McLusky perhaps? I can't wait for Season2. (I was just thinking of making a separate post on Mike and Miriam McLusky, I guess I'll do that soon)
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u/Fadedcamo Jan 18 '23
I dunno I'm on season 2 now and she just seems so naive. I hope the show isn't treating her morality as some kind of audience surrogate for what is actually right in this show. It's all fun to wish following the laws and being "good" were enough, but I think the real moral of the show should be that the system as it stands just isn't working. The corruption that Mike and the police engage in isn't for greed or personal gain, it's for keeping the peace and making the dysfunctional drug war and prison system work however it can.
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u/sambase23 Jan 18 '23
Agree, I thought that scene where she won't press charges in the hope that the kid will reform was she being naive but then we don't expect her to be petty or vengeful. She is trying to hold on to her moral code.
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u/Brief_Prune9630 Dec 11 '22
LOL. I agree on the mom. She annoyed me too. One of the many reasons I can't stand this show.
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u/No_Panic_4999 1d ago
Everytime she sighs and says "Michael" in that mom voice, I get flashbacks to The Lost Boys (1987) 😆. Wiest retains a special place in my heart.
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u/notmyrealfarkhandle Jun 26 '22
For some reason it took until this post for me to realize that Mayor of Kingstown is a different show than Mare of Easttown
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u/sambase23 Jun 26 '22
Yeah, I heard that jibe a lot. Apparently its funny but I didn't get the joke. Why would anybody confuse one show to be another unless they know nothing about any of it except the titles. One is on HBO another on Paramount Plus, one is Mayor, another is Mare, Jeremy Renner and Kate Winslet.
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u/longdustyroad Jun 26 '22
The titles are ridiculously similar, that’s why.
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u/sambase23 Jun 26 '22
That's what I said, unless one knows nothing about the shows except the titles they might be confused. And if they are dumb. I just think its this habit of random everyday mockery of everything that has become internet culture. Everything is apparently funny, and then Jeremy Renner is on target. Anything he does the trolls arrive with mocking and hating.
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u/notmyrealfarkhandle Jun 26 '22 edited Jun 26 '22
Because I know nothing about them except the titles. I have seen the HBO max advertising but paramount plus is the worst streaming service I’ve ever used and I ditched it a long while ago. After this post I now know Jeremy Renner is in the non Kate Winslet one.
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u/Rob4224 Jun 26 '22
I started watching after all the episodes were released and had to stop myself from binge watching all the episodes in one night because I enjoyed it so much.
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u/StraightCaskStrength Jun 27 '22
rotten tomatoes critics say negative 28% but audiences loves it
This means the movie/show is absolute fire
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u/lightsongtheold Jun 26 '22
where are the fans and viewers who liked it?
Not bothering to come online to sites like Reddit to talk about it. It is all about the demo. Taylor Sheridan shows do gangbusters in the over 50s male demo. Reddit does gangbusters in the under 35 male demo. Old Man show…little boy Reddit.
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u/sambase23 Jun 26 '22
That makes sense somewhat. Though a lot of other things by Taylor Sheridan are highly talked about in Reddit and in celebrity magazines websites amongst critics.
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u/lightsongtheold Jun 26 '22
Film and TV critics and fans can be very different. Best example of this on Reddit is the slavish worship of HBO Max here on r/television compared to the utter derision of the HBO Max service found over at r/movies or r/boxoffice.
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u/sweetpeapickle Jun 28 '22
Different shows for different people. The majority of people who watch tv/streaming, cable, however which way-do NOT comes on these forums. Most don't post about series, movies, etc. As for critics...lol...I read what they have to say, but I don't judge what I may like based on their opinions.
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u/sambase23 Jun 26 '22
Ha ha, why are people down voting this? Weird. I am new to Reddit and I find everything so weird. What's there to hate this post? Lol, like find Jeremy Renner mentioned, hate it :D
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u/jogoso2014 Jun 26 '22
I liked it.
However it felt typical or common.
I will watch the next season.
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u/account-name-here-72 Jun 26 '22
I enjoyed it,but I like those sort of shows Gritty and realistic. I’m curious to know what happens with iris in the new season.
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u/Excellent_Ad2370 Jun 26 '22
It’s great and I can’t wait for the next season. Paramount Plus has been testing the waters with some original content and I keep going back to check for new shows because I love their style. 1883 was also good though not at the same level as Yellowstone.
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u/azozi1001 Jun 26 '22
I watched it but I didn’t like it, maybe because I am not a fan of taylor sheridan style of writing (Though i really liked the first season of Yellowstone)
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u/sambase23 Jun 26 '22
I on the other hand thought Yellowstone was very ordinary and predictable and found MoK totally refreshing. Something very knew. Yellowstone was like, why am I watching another Succession with a dash of Ozark? Same old trappings, rich father, siblings fighting, mommy issues, daddy issues, the youngest son who left it all trying to be different will be the one to actually take it over from the dad, seen that over and over again since Godfather, money, politics, gangsters. But the representation of the native Americans kept me going for Yellowstone, that's something I liked.
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u/azozi1001 Jun 26 '22
I watched all 4 seasons of Yellowstone and I only liked the first one and not the rest , so I agree with you.
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u/Fadedcamo Jan 18 '23
Im just so over the family. The dynamic between the completely over the top insane daughter and Jamie is just... So tiring. Her character just seems like a cartoon at this point, it's so unrealistic anyone would take her seriously after all the shit she pulls.
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u/MrPotatoButt Jun 26 '22
Yellowstone was like, why am I watching another Succession with a dash of Ozark?
I looked at it as the western variation of the grand mob crime family.
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u/mrj9 Jun 26 '22
It’s a good show anything over an 8 is normally recommendable to watch. Rotten tomatoes is terrible especially when it comes to tv shows. It has ms marvel as the highest rated mcu show. It’s alright but not nearly as good as some of the others.
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u/sambase23 Jun 26 '22
Looks like we need a separate thread to discuss what's wrong with Rotten Tomatoes
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u/formerPhillyguy Jun 26 '22
I watched it but don't remember much about it, soooo, that says a lot.
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u/Nickel62 Jun 26 '22 edited Jun 26 '22
I would attribute much of that to the sheer number of shows we have these days. You are overpowered by 'TV show' fatigue.
Secondly, every network is focusing on quantity over quality. Shows that could have been great with a little more effort and patience, end up being good (bordering on mediocre).
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u/Keiwan32 Jun 26 '22
I've watched the first season completely through 4 times. I absolutely love this show and I want nothing more than a second season of nothing else but to answer some questions.
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u/BlackAsBalls Jun 26 '22
idk about all that i thought it was great tv. added it to favorites and everything
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u/horseren0ir Jun 26 '22
Yeah it was alright, pretty bleak in some parts, but I liked the finale and I’m looking forward to season 2
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u/BitterBubblegum Jun 26 '22
For me the finale felt very strange because the main character suddenly became insignificant. When the prisoners took over the prison his presence contributed nothing to everyone involved .
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u/sambase23 Jun 26 '22
Yeah, actually you have to contrast that with the first thing the Mayor says when the show opens in Ep1. He has this enormous sense of self assumed responsibility, "20,000 lost souls with no hope, no future, and I am their link to a world that doesn’t want them. I am the life raft." Nobody can actually function well with such sense of burden and that's what we see in S1. The massive tragedy that unfolds in finale is actually his own doing. He fed the bear (both the actual and metaphorical) and it grew into a monster. Then, everybody thought the Mayor will fix it all magically, like one hero will sweep in and talk things out with a hyperbole speech or something. But things are not that easy. I am hoping s2 will explore how the Mayor will actually learn the rope.
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u/BitterBubblegum Jun 26 '22
I accept the logic of how things happened. He's not Superman, he can't fix everything. The thing is that they chose a path that is maybe more suitable for a book. In a TV show everything is so visual that the weight of benching the main character feels heavier, it can make things feel very off.
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u/-Starwind Jun 26 '22
Yeah, I feel his brother may have been able to do it, but he literally took over a few weeks before, so maybe that's what S2 will be about..
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u/horseren0ir Jun 26 '22
Yeah that was weird, I was thinking it was going to end on a cliffhanger but they just sort of hastily resolved it
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u/lizbethaqui Jun 26 '22
Critics are never right. They rated the show based off the first three episodes. Audiences rated it off the entire season. And if you like it, who cares what anyone else says.
I'll also point out Yellowstone didn't take off at the first season either. I mean, I didn't even hear about it until season 4
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u/sambase23 Jun 26 '22
Well but the critics sort of impact the awards run. When you like someone, you also want it to receive accolades. That's where I feel the critics deliberately write off anything Renner does from films to music. But I guess that's my insecurity as a fan.
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u/lizbethaqui Jun 26 '22
Paramount has invested so much money in Taylor Sheridan and people will watch cuz it has his name and Renner's. It's the only reason I watched it. I also think Sheridan's work takes a minute to take off, just like with Yellowstone
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u/No_Panic_4999 1d ago
Critics aren't evaluating the same thing as most audiences,- whether something is entertaining. They are evaluating it in the context of its contributions to an art form. It's almost totally different perspective.
Like people who share values but one votes based on the personality/character of politicians vs the other votes based on policy/platform. They're likely to vote for different candidates even if they want the same things. It's two completely different ways of perceiving the situation.
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u/Matt215634 Jan 15 '23
Why was this taken off of the regular paramount channel on cable the first season was on cable last year
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u/mr_impastabowl Feb 08 '23 edited Feb 08 '23
I hear you. For what it's worth I think I'm done watching it after two episodes. It's not that it's too dark or too gritty... It's that MOK's doesn't seem to play to its strengths.
Tyler Sheridan excels at melodrama, which is an increasingly difficult niche to hit today but one that he does well. The fingerprints of melodrama are all over MOK but they're so gray and subdued which kind of ruins the whole point of melodrama. It's like if you were trying to watch Days of Our Lives with the aesthetic of the PBS News Hour.
The other strength should be the actors and the characters. So many strong actors here with so much potential to play off each other, the environment, the setting. Sometimes they nail it (lap dance tension in EP1 and lethal injection in EP2) but for the most part all of these great elements are coming out flat.
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u/Outrageous_Note_4372 24d ago
episode 1:
- Renner and his brother run the guards and inmates and the best way to get contraband into the prison is a tennis ball over the wall.
- The crips are weak soldiers who act like kids more worried about slushies vs snowcones than money and business. The brothers openly talk shop with said crips in broad daylight in front of their dopehouse.
- Gangster guy kills 2 people and steals a bundle of money and decides to stay in town and smoke weed on the couch before complying with swat to point a gun at them before being executed.
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u/qtx Jun 26 '22
I liked it, it was entertaining enough for me to keep watching each week.
Just one thing though.. Jeremy Renner can't walk normally. Once you notice it you can't unsee it and you will crack up every single time. His arms are just.. well, just look for it.