Is ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ Based on a Real Place? The Truth About the Prison City
Jeremy Renner's gritty drama has fans asking: Is Kingstown, Michigan real?
If you’ve watched any of Taylor Sheridan’s television series, you know that the settings and communities he brings to life on the screen truly look and feel authentic and real. While some of the backdrops of his series are based on real cities and places, such as Tulsa in Tulsa King or the Montana cities like Bozeman that served as the setting for much of Yellowstone, some of his shows take place in fictional places that are merely inspired by real-life locations—take Mayor of Kingstown for example. Mayor of Kingstown is led by Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky. In the city of Kingstown, the prison industry is at the heart of the community and its economy. Renner’s character serves as something of a middleman between those on the outside and those incarcerated on the inside, and the gritty backdrop of this series has made for several seasons of intensity and gripping television. That being said, such detailed storytelling has left folks wondering over the years: Is Mayor of Kingstown based on a real place? Here, we break down the show’s setting and take a deep dive into the real Kingstown.
Is ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ based on a real place?
Mayor of Kingstown takes place in the fictional city of Kingstown, Michigan. While Kingstown, Michigan isn’t a real place, Kingston, Ontario in Canada is—and it’s where the show’s co-creator Hugh Dillion grew up. The series takes inspiration from Dillon’s hometown, and much like the city depicted on screen, their economy depended on the prison industry. When he was growing up there, Kingston was home to nine prisons, and the way he put it in conversation with TV Insider, “Growing up in a place like that does something to you.” According to Canada’s Penitentiary Museum, there was a time when Kingston was home to 10 penitentiaries, but as of 2018, there are only six actively in operation, as reported by Queen’s University Library. One of the most notable institutions in Kingston’s history was the Kingston Penitentiary, which opened in 1835 and closed its doors in 2013. In 1990, it was declared a National Historic site due to the “sophistication of its plan, its size, its age and the number of its physical facilities of special architectural merit that survive from the 19th century,” explained Parks Canada—and so impressive is this spot that it actually served as a filming location for some of Mayor of Kingstown!
Where is ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ filmed?
Mayor of Kingstown has been filmed throughout Canada in cities such as Kingston, Toronto, Hamilton, Brantford and more, with outlets like CTV News reporting that Kingston Penitentiary was used for quite a few of the prison scenes in the series. Later seasons were filmed throughout Pittsburgh, PA as well.
“Prisons are the most brutal, unfair places in our society,” Hugh Dillon shared per Den of Geek. “(Growing up,) my friends’ parents were prison guards and inmates. It was just where I was from. I’ve always been fascinated with this unseen prison complex. It’s a world unto itself—how we treat those inmates and people and how that bleeds into a town that’s housing them. As a writer and as an actor I would keep coming back to this story.”
Whether you’re drawn to the show’s intense storytelling, Jeremy Renner’s powerful performance or the fascinating real-world inspiration behind it, Mayor of Kingstown offers a compelling look at a community shaped by its prison industry. And now that you know the true story behind Kingstown, you can appreciate even more the authentic details that make this series so gripping. Ready to dive back in for another binge-watch? We don’t blame you!
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