Jeremy Renner’s Grittiest Crime Drama Is Finally Escaping the Paramount+ Paywall and Coming to Netflix

Streaming exclusivity deals have long kept some of television’s most acclaimed dramas locked behind specific platforms, forcing fans to juggle multiple subscriptions just to keep up with their favorite shows. That’s especially been true of Taylor Sheridan’s expanding television empire, which has remained almost entirely confined to Paramount’s family of services since it first launched.

That includes hits like ‘Yellowstone’, ‘1883’, ‘1923’, ‘Tulsa King’, and ‘Special Ops: Lioness’, all of which have stayed firmly planted within Paramount+ or its cable affiliates. For years, fans without a subscription to that specific ecosystem had no legal way to access Sheridan’s gritty, morally complicated world of ranchers, gangsters, and lawmen.

That exclusivity is officially ending. Jeremy Renner’s crime drama ‘Mayor of Kingstown‘ is coming to Netflix, marking the very first time any Taylor Sheridan series has streamed anywhere outside the Paramount umbrella, with multiple seasons expected to premiere on October 5.

The series follows Mike McLusky, played by Renner, who steps into the unofficial role of “mayor” in the fictional Michigan town of Kingstown after his brother’s death. McLusky spends the show navigating an uneasy balance between incarcerated gang leaders, law enforcement, local politicians, and everyday residents, all set against a community whose entire economy revolves around its prison system.

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed the move during a recent earnings call, framing it as part of a much larger licensing push. “We have a new slate of licensed titles from Paramount which is going to bring a lot of new series, shows that Netflix has never had around the world,” Sarandos said, adding that the company plans to keep expanding its offering of licensed programming throughout the year.

While it remains unclear exactly how many of the show’s existing four seasons will land on Netflix, early reporting suggests all 40 episodes could arrive at once, giving new viewers a hefty binge opportunity right as the show heads toward its ending. ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ was recently confirmed to conclude with an upcoming fifth season, a decision reportedly made without series co-creator Hugh Dillon’s original seven-season plan in mind.

That fifth and final season is already deep in production, with filming underway in Pittsburgh since March. The new episodes will introduce FBI agent Russell Hardy, played by David Morse, arriving in Kingstown to investigate the murder of Mike’s sister-in-law Tracy McLusky, alongside returning cast members including Emmy and Golden Globe winner Edie Falco as prison warden Nina Hobbs.

The timing of the show’s Netflix debut also lines up with broader shifts in Sheridan’s career, following a new overall deal he signed with NBCUniversal that will eventually pull him further away from Paramount once his current contract expires at the end of 2028. Beyond ‘Mayor of Kingstown’, Netflix has also picked up the rights to other Paramount+ titles like ‘SEAL Team’ and ‘Watson’ as part of the same expanding licensing agreement.

For longtime fans who’ve stuck with McLusky’s increasingly bleak journey through Kingstown’s underworld, the Netflix move offers a chance to introduce the show to a massive new audience just as its story approaches its conclusion. Whether that exposure translates into a broader appreciation for what’s often been called one of Sheridan’s most underrated series remains to be seen, but the timing certainly couldn’t be more fitting.

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