“These are all the people I worked with for two seasons already”: Jeremy Renner Doesn’t Consider Mayor of Kingstown Team’s Serious Doubts about His Season 3 Return a Backstab

Taylor Sheridan’s extensive body of work, from Yellowstone to Special Ops: Lioness, and all other projects in between has brought out the best and the most brilliant of works from Hollywood-certified A-listers. Among them, Jeremy Renner stands out on top, not for the gritty realism of his series, Mayor of Kingstown but because of Renner’s miraculous journey from near death to full recovery.

After the Hawkeye star’s fatal injury on New Year’s Day 2023, Paramount waited nine months before renewing Mayor of Kingstown for a third season. Despite the threat of never being able to walk again, Renner defied every medical impediment to start filming exactly a year after his snowplow accident. The days spent on set since then may not have been easy but they are a testament to the superhuman strength and sheer force of will contained within the 2-times Oscar-nominated actor.

Jeremy Rennerʼs Mayor of Kingstown Co-stars Had Doubts

Jeremy Renner‘s January 1st accident had almost rendered him bedridden and crippled if not for his miraculous journey to recovery through intense training and physical therapy. To return from such a state of harrowing condition and be thrown into the chaos of a studio production would not be an easy thing and his co-stars were aware of that fact.

Despite showing impossible positivity, hope, optimism, and resilience in the face of great adversity, the on-set cast and crew of Paramount’s Mayor of Kingstown had to be prepared for reality. Speaking in an exclusive interview with People, Renner revealed:

In the beginning, I think because I hadn’t seen anybody — and these are all people I worked with for two seasons already — I hadn’t really got to talk to anybody. They didn’t know what version of Jeremy would come back. I was not in really great shape, to be honest with you. I really wasn’t.

There’ll be nothing normal or as it was prior to the accident. I’m okay with that. I accept it.

Mayor of Kingstown Season 3 wrapped filming in May 2024 after 7 months of shooting. The latest season ups the ante from the anarchic Seasons 1 and 2 by pitting Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner) against the Russians as the defacto Mayor fights to preserve peace on the streets of Kingstown.

Jeremy Renner Admits His Own Shortcomings During Filming

From a professional point of view, it is hard not to harbor any doubts about the leading star of a show and his ability to deliver lines after surviving such a harrowing ordeal. For Jeremy Renner, those quizzical looks from his crew and co-stars were much warranted, especially considering he himself felt the pressure starting to build and his body giving up under the sudden weight of stress.

In an interview with the LA Times, Renner claimed:

They go, ‘And action!’ And I was out. We realized they worked me too hard, too many hours, too many days in a row. What I’m willing to do is everything, but what I’m able to do is a different thing. They have to treat me like I’m a child actor. The mayor of Kingstown is now like a 14-year-old.

Despite the difficult atmosphere, Jeremy Renner was able to do his part, even going so far as to perform some of his own stunts. Like most of Taylor Sheridan‘s shows, the stakes are never high enough and the bar for risks keeps increasing with every passing season. Renner’s presence brings just as much grittiness to the series on screen as it does due to his reputation off the screen.

Mayor of Kingstown Season 3 will premiere on Paramount+ on June 2, 2024.