Mayor of Kingstown viewers were left wondering how Mike would find out about Iris after she died following an accidental overdose in the season 3 finale last year.
Spoilers for the Mayor of Kingstown season 4 premiere, below.
The Paramount+ show premiered its fourth season on Sunday, October 24, and Jeremy Renner’s Mike McLusky is out of the loop when it comes to Iris’ (Emma Laird) death — thanks to longtime friend Ian Ferguson (Hugh Dillon).
One scene in the first episode showed Stevie (Derek Webster) receiving a report about Iris’ death and handing it to Ian.
“Jane Doe, few hours outside of town,” Stevie says. Ian reads the paper, quickly realizing who it is.
“I just dropped her off at the bus station a month ago, f*** me,” he says. “Jesus, Iris.”
Stevie explained that because it’s a “different jurisdiction” than the Kingstown Police Department, the death report was released to find next of kin.
“She’s got no family, Stevie,” Ian explains. Stevie is quick to ask if they should tell Mike.
“Never. This stays between us,” Ian replies. “I will deal with it. Just f***ing leave it to me. If I got to pay for it myself, I’ll deal with it.”
Emma Laird as Iris. Dennis P. Mong Jr. / Paramount+
Iris was introduced as an escort for the Russian mafia in season 1. While she was brought to Kingstown as a way to control Mike, the two never formed a romantic relationship. In a way, she became Mike’s closest friend. But will her death come back around as season 4 continues?
“Maybe way down the road,” Dillon, 62, told Us Weekly exclusively during the Mayor of Kingstown season 4 red carpet on Tuesday, October 21. “I envisioned that death for her. I talked to her about it.”
He added, “I also really love the sin of omission with Ian not telling Mike. Ian’s trying to help him.”
Dillon explained that Ian “looks after [Mike’s] best interests,” which might mean leaving some information out at times.
Renner told Us that he, honestly, “forgot” about that moment until he saw the season 4 premiere. The actor also joked that she could be alive and he would find out right along with the audience.
The Mayor of Kingstown premiere also introduced the season’s major story lines — Mike’s brother Kyle (Taylor Handley) behind bars in Anchor Bay Prison and how things inside the institution will change with new warden Nina Hobbs (Edie Falco).
The show’s dark subject matter gets a little more intense this time around as Kyle says goodbye to his wife, Tracy (Nishi Munsh), and their son during the premiere before reporting to Anchor Bay. Yes, Kyle is doing time for shooting fellow SWAT team officer Robert (Hamish Allan-Headley) — who lives in the morally gray area — but it’s so much more than that.
“Robert’s facing countless f***ing murder charges. That f***er will not go down quietly,” Ian explains at one point in the episode. “Everything he knows about you, me, Mitch when he was alive, Mike. Kyle’s not doing this for Robert, Stevie. He’s doing it for us.”
New episodes of Mayor of Kingstown premiere via Paramount+ on Sundays.
