Stephen King shared his praise for this acclaimed, four-season crime thriller series, and it just returned the favor with a shout-out. Stephen King is arguably the most successful author of the last half-century, with an unprecedented influence on the film industry that’s only paralleled by the likes of Jane Austen, Shakespeare, and other writers whose work has had hundreds of years to accumulate esteem. The best adaptations of King’s work include all-time classics like The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption, and Stand By Me.
Decades into his career, Stephen King is still pumping out books at ridiculous speeds, but the author has also taken to social media to share his opinions. The legendary writer is outspoken about politics, but he also occasionally shares some of the media he’s been enjoying. Stephen King has shared his favorite 2025 movies, and looking further back, he’s offered reviews on other titles. In 2024, he took to X to praise Taylor Sheridan’s Mayor of Kingstown, comparing it to the likes of The Shield and Sons of Anarchy, saying:
I have no f***ing clue what’s going on in THE MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, but I love this show. It reminds me of THE SHIELD and SONS OF ANARCHY. I had no fucking idea what was going on in those, either. What I know is Mike McLusky drives around in a badass Lincoln Connie. That’s all I need to know. Also, that guy Bunny [Tobi Bamtefa] is a badass.
Also, Jeremy Renner is a badass who got run over by a snowplow and came back for Season F*cking Three!
‘Mayor of Kingstown’ Returned the Nod to Stephen King In Its Latest Episode
Paramount+ subscribers and Taylor Sheridan fans are currently enjoying Season 4 of Mayor of Kingstown. The crime series might not be on the same level of popularity as Yellowstone, but it’s certainly landed with a select group of viewers. While critics have been harsh on the series, fans have consistently praised it as a unique entry to the police drama, and when that fanbase includes the great Stephen King, it’s difficult to deny the show’s virtues.
In Mayor of Kingstown Season 4, Episode 4, “Sins of Omission,” there’s a scene shared between inmates Kyle McLusky (Taylor Handley) and Aryan gang leader Merle Callahan (Richard Brake), where the latter expresses that this prison “Ain’t Shawshank,” and that there are no friends there. The series depicts characters in a fictitious Michigan town ravaged by its incarceration industry, and it takes a fairly cynical view of the whole ideal. Unlike in The Shawshank Redemption, where prisoners Andy and Red build a touching bond, Mayor of Kingstown’s prisons are a consistent danger zone of gang violence, riots, and murders.
Speaking with Screen Rant in July 2024, Taylor Handley shared his excitement for Stephen King’s praise of the show, explaining that he and showrunner/star Hugh Dillon were thrilled about the praise. With that in mind, it’s clear that the Mayor of Kingstown line was written with King in mind, praising the cultural pillar that is The Shawshank Redemption while also denoting the harsh difference between the titles.
- Release Date
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November 14, 2021
- Network
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Paramount+
- Directors
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Stephen Kay, Guy Ferland, Christoph Schrewe, Clark Johnson, Paul Cameron, Tasha Smith, Taylor Sheridan
- Writers
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James Arcega Tinsley
