TV Talk: Season 2 of ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ to film in Pittsburgh

Steeltown will become Kingstown when season two of Paramount+’s “Mayor of Kingstown” films in Western Pennsylvania later this year.

The show’s first season, set in Michigan, was shot in Hamilton, Burlington, and Kingston, Ontario.

“Mayor of Kingstown” executive producer Hugh Dillon posted images of the shuttered SCI Pittsburgh (aka Western Penitentiary) and video from the March 11 Penguins game, both tagged #Scouting, to his Facebook page in early March. “Scouting” is the term used by TV and film producers when searching for filming locations. Homewood native Antoine Fuqua is also an executive producer on “Kingstown.”

MOK Season 2 on the ground in Pittsburgh - Location scouting with Vlad W.

????: Michael Friedman@kingstown @paramountplus #mayorofkingstown #paramountplus #season2 #PittsburghPA #Pennsylvania pic.twitter.com/3rd5TAepvl

— Hugh Dillon (@realhughdillon) April 7, 2022

Dillon was back in town last week for more location scouting, which he also posted to his social media accounts. A Paramount+ publicist confirmed “Kingstown” will shoot locally.

“We’re thrilled to welcome ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ for their second season and hopefully more, bringing hundreds of jobs for local Pennsylvanians,” said Pittsburgh Film Office director Dawn Keezer. “We can’t wait to see them get started.”

Paramount+ renewed “Mayor of Kingstown” on Feb. 1, saying it had become Paramount+’s most-watched original series behind “1883.” Both shows come from “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan, who co-created “Kingstown” with Dillon, who also had a role in the first season of “Mayor of Kingstown.”

“Mayor of Kingstown” premiered in November 2021, following the McLusky family, power brokers in the prison-filled Kingstown, Mich. The first season starred Jeremy Renner, Dianne Wiest and Kyle Chandler among others.

The addition of “Mayor of Kingstown” to the list of series filming in Western Pennsylvania follows the cancellation of two shows after their first seasons, Netflix’s “Archive 81” and Showtime’s “American Rust.”

You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow Rob on Twitter or Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location