Mayor of Kingstown: Dianne Wiest not returning for season 3

It was announced earlier this month that Mayor of Kingstown would be renewed for a third season, but Deadline reports that one of the series’ main stars will not be returning. According to their sources, Dianne Wiest won’t be back for Mayor of Kingstown season 3.

The series follows the McLusky family – power brokers in Kingstown, Michigan, where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. Dianne Wiest plays Mariam McLusky in Mayor of Kingstown, who is the matriarch of the McLusky family. The outlet reports that there have been rumblings that Wiest might be leaving the series for several months, with her exit said to be “story-driven.” I haven’t watched the series for myself, but those who do likely know how Wiest will be written out, given the events of the season 2 finale.

The scripts for season 3 of the series were written before the WGA strike began, but now that the strike is over, those scripts are being finalized. However, the SAG-AFTRA strike still needs to conclude before production can begin.

Jeremy Renner stars in Mayor of Kingstown as Mike McLusky, and the fact that he’s returning for a third season is something of a miracle. At the start of the year, Renner was involved in a horrific accident in which he suffered blunt chest trauma and 30 broken bones after being hit and run over by a snowplow on his property. He spent weeks in intensive care before returning home to continue his recovery. Renner has shared much of his rehab on social media, updating his fans and followers about his condition. He also made appearances on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and had an interview with Diane Sawyer to recount his incident.

In addition to Jeremy Renner, the cast of Mayor of Kingstown also includes Hugh Dillon, Taylor Handley, Emma Laird, Tobi Bamtefa, Derek Webster, Nishi Munshi, Hamish Allan-Headley, and Aidan Gillen. A release date for Mayor of Kingstown season 3 remains unknown, but it all depends on when the SAG strike ends.