Mayor of Kingstown hasn’t set easy goals for itself. The Paramount+ series is the latest in Taylor Sheridan’s series of violent and compelling dramas that tell overlooked stories of American families. Mayor of Kingstown depicts the business of incarceration. It delves into the systemic racism attached to profiting off of the American prison system. Mayor of Kingstown follows the McLusky family, power brokers who intercede between the prison and the law to bring their town justice — or at least a semblance of peace.
Mayor of Kingstown co-creator Hugh Dillon, who also serves as executive producer and portrays Ian in the series, sat down with CBR for an exclusive interview. He was joined by actor Tobi Bamtefa to discuss why the series’ violent story is so important to tell.
Mayor of Kingstown doesn’t shy away from controversial or traumatic topics. In your role as co-creator, why is it important to tell this story now?
Hugh Dillon: What I like about Taylor Sheridan is he doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable storytelling. I think that’s what we need is to have that uncompromised vision. Him and I go back a long way. He was my acting coach when we were two broke actors in Hollywood. This is a dream come true for me. As a person, and Tobi can attest to this, he wants you to succeed. When I started talking to him about where I was from in a prison town with nine pens, and my mom was a teacher and my friends’ folks were prison guards or convicts, we would hyper-focus and talk about this world and what could we do? It’s a dream, really. It was my dream that we got together and we persevered.
He has the ability to deconstruct scenes and characters and worlds. I would be lost in it because I’m a film nerd. I’d be lost in talking to him about it for hours — I still am. This is probably the best Monday in my life that we’re here and talking about this. Not only did we get this thing to the page, but we also got it to the stage. Taylor is a genius in making a family and making everyone comfortable and making everybody bring it.
Tobi and I are great friends now. Tobi nailed it to the wall because I knew this for so long, this world. And then you’re seeing the actors come in, from Jeremy Renner and Diane Wiest, and they find this other gear that is crazy to me because I have a bar set and then everybody beats it. So my expectations are blown out of the water in such a positive way. This young man, just watching his skill set and what he did with his dialect. He’s in England right now, and his American accent is — the detail is immaculate. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but it is exciting to watch.
So how do you get into this character, do you have a process for finding that?
Tobi Bamtefa: I talked to a lot of people. I watched a lot of videos on YouTube. In fact, one of the people that I spoke to was actually my classmate on the show. His name is Pha’rez Lass, he plays P-dog in the penitentiary. We’re really good friends now. I would listen to him talking and speaking and I would try to emulate what he does and things like that. He was such an open book with all of that. He would teach me a lot of things about stuff. So I really appreciate him for that, for allowing me to observe him like that, even on set at times as well.
That was just a small part of the process. There was a lot that went into it. I usually stay in the accent for two days before I get on set just so I don’t have to keep switching and going back and forth and stuff. If I can sit in it comfortably, then it’s easier for me to be freer with the words.
How does Mayor of Kingstown differ from some of your earlier work?
Bamtefa: It differs because, for starters, the character I’m playing is one who is very steeped in reality. You mentioned why the show is important now — it’s important now because now it’s happening and it’s been happening for a very long time. This show is essentially giving us a snapshot of what has been occurring and showing us the kind of world that allows these human defects to occur or — “defect” is not the right word, but it’s the closest I’m going to choose right now. That’s why it’s important to watch this stuff now because this stuff has been happening for a while.
What was the behind-the-scenes culture like for Mayor of Kingstown?
Dillon: You know, it’s a blur in many ways, to have it in the can now. For me, Taylor was so gracious to give me the leeway to be a producer as well as an actor. So it was stunning to see us pull this off with COVID. I think that was so incredible because there are so many things that get in the way of having a show get greenlit to production — anything can happen.
To Taylor Sheridan’s credit, he did the same thing with Yellowstone. He called me in there in the middle of the pandemic and said, “Come down to Montana, we’re gonna shoot Season 4 of Yellowstone,” and I’m like, “…Okay.” I watched how he very carefully made sure that all the protocols were exacted and he did the same thing when we decided to shoot here. So car crashes, the character development, to make sure that all of us were a family and to have this other layer that I’ve never experienced. I’ve been in the business for a couple of decades, but the COVID restrictions were a challenge. To see it all then in the editing bay and seeing that it all worked is miraculous and a testament to Taylor Sheridan.
Mayor of Kingstown premieres Nov. 14 on Paramount Network. New episodes air Sundays on Paramount+.
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