How the Cast of ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ Season 4 Adapted to Filming in a Prison Setting (Exclusive)

Mayor of Kingstown stands out as one of the darker series on television currently, but the ensemble cast certainly knows how to have a good time once the cameras start rolling.

For those yet to dive into the Paramount+ series (seriously, you should), a significant portion of the storyline unfolds in a prison setting. Indeed, the cast films on location in a real prison. Season 4, set to debut on Sunday, October 26, leans even more into the prison theme than previous seasons.

Jeremy Renner reprises his role as Mike McLusky in the upcoming season, as events take a more personal turn with his brother Kyle (Taylor Handley) now incarcerated in Anchor Bay Prison. McLusky finds himself in conflict with the new warden, Nina Hobbs (Edie Falco), which adds another layer of tension to his life. Additionally, Laura Benanti joins the cast as new female prison guard Cindy Stephens.

Cocreator and star of Mayor of Kingstown, Hugh Dillon (who plays Ian Ferguson), shared with Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday, October 21, that he was “fascinated” by the concept of a single mother working as a prison guard after encountering someone akin to Cindy in real life.

“She nailed it to the wall. It’s so funny because she has a comic background. She makes me laugh,” Dillon remarked about Benanti. “She has no respect for me, and yet, when it’s action, she is phenomenal. … Laura really came to play.”

Dillon commended Benanti for embodying her character with “grace and dignity,” though she faced one significant “challenge” while portraying her role.

“I have a very big phobia of blood, even though I know it’s fake,” Benanti revealed to Us at the Mayor of Kingstown season 4 red carpet event on Tuesday. “That was also very humiliating since everyone knew and everyone was concerned. … In many ways, I overcame it because I had to.”

Despite her anxieties—and the generally serious tone of the series—Benanti and her fellow cast members discovered ways to inject some fun on set. Read on to learn how the cast of Mayor of Kingstown managed to keep things light during filming:

Jeremy Renner

“I think I just wait for it to be over and shake it off when I walk back to the trailer or something,” he remarked.

Edie Falco

Falco shared with Us that she was “always” on the lookout for “the funny guy” on the set.

“You check your phone and kind of try to snap your head out of the storyline,” she noted.

Laura Benanti

Benanti explained to Us that “everyone” contributes to creating an atmosphere of levity between takes.

“Fortunately, it was a group that naturally moved in that direction. That was the ecosystem of the space. I just fit right in,” she expressed. “Fortunately, they were already idiots. I just joined.”

She humorously added, “We just linked arms and skipped down the street.”

Hugh Dillon

Dillon confirmed the cast’s harmony with Benanti—initially maintaining a serious demeanor.

“At first we were like, ‘Hey, how’re you doing?’ Because we don’t know [her],” he shared. “Then, she’s an idiot.”