SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Mayor of Kingstown Season 4, Episode 10.

Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 featured memorable performances by Richard Brake and Taylor Handley, as Merle Callahan resurfaced only to become the devil on Kyle McLusky’s shoulder. But it was Kyle who got the last word on the Paramount+ show—even if he had to sell his soul to do it.

In an interview with TVBrittanyF.com, Handley and Brake discussed their characters’ final showdown in the Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 finale. They also gave their thoughts on Callahan’s shocking murder of Kyle’s wife Tracy. Plus, they reflected on the intense journey that their characters took across the whole of Season 4.

Brittany Frederick: Taylor, how big of a challenge was Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 for you? Not just in terms of Kyle’s storyline being so dark, but in terms of it being so different from what you were used to?

Taylor Handley: It was more exciting than hard. Getting to read every script as it came in, and knowing that I was going to be work working with Richard, who’s done a fantastic job with Merle—I couldn’t wait. There was nothing hard about it. I mean, granted, I do have two acting coaches, and I’m constantly prepping it. But it’s exciting, because when you get to work on material that’s this great, it’s just a pleasure.

Richard, what was your reaction to getting to play Merle Callahan for a second season and finding out where he was going to go?

Richard Brake: For me, it was one lovely journey. And I’m so glad I came back for Season 4 to really finish Merle off. Because one of the things with Merle is you never really see him do anything particularly diabolical. He sets some things up. He gets people killed, but he doesn’t do a whole lot of bad things. You just hear about how bad he is, particularly from Mike.

They are such incredible writers. Episode by episode, the tension builds and builds until Episode 8, we see him do something that seems to have broken a lot of people’s hearts, understandably, and most entirely Kyle’s heart. It was just a joy working that character and just letting him build over those two seasons. And getting to work with both Jeremy a lot last season and Taylor this season, it was just absolute joy.

You’re referring, of course, to Callahan murdering Kyle’s wife Tracy. Did even you hate your character in that moment, knowing how evil and how massive that scene was?

Brake: it makes me sound like a psychopath, but no, I absolutely loved it. I was like, that is fantastic—but that’s because I’m inside of his mind. And there’s nothing better than him [doing] what he did in his mind. As an audience member, it’s heartbreaking, but for Merle, I just thought it was brilliant.

It was tough to film. It was incredibly difficult to film it with Nishi [Munshi, who plays Tracy]. It was going to be one of her, if not her last day after being on the show for so long, and she’s phenomenal. Her professionalism and composure and performance on that day was just extraordinary. And I hadn’t seen Taylor’s performance from the prison when he’s on the phone, obviously. I watched it and then to see what he was doing there as an actor, it’s just mind-blowing. The whole scene, when it’s put together, it’s extraordinary.

Filming it was intense. There’s no doubt about that, on a personal level. But in terms of Merle’s level, he loved it.

Taylor, what was your reaction to learning Kyle was going to lose Tracy? And how did you approach playing that scene, which is one of your best moments so far?

Handley: It’s never easy reading something like that, or knowing that that some characters are coming to an end. I think that you have to go back to the writers’ and the creators’ decision that services the story. And so you go along with that.

Getting to play something that intense doesn’t come around a lot, and so you really want to make sure you’re prepared. And it was intense, but man, was it just something. There’s just a couple scenes that I have throughout my career where I’ve been like [that]—and that was one of those scenes, where it was just incredible to film.

Nishi is so incredible throughout the series, and then in that scene in particular. Everyone was beyond their “A” game—Rich and Nishi—and that’s why it all came together, and I think that’s why it was so impactful.

Which brings us to the Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 finale. Fans are all begging for Kyle to get his revenge. What was it like for the two of you to film Callahan’s final scene?

Handley: It was a toss-up, because it could have gone either way. Is Kyle going to remain this man with a with a good moral compass, or is he going to dive deep down and cross the line? And in this case, he crosses the line. It could have gone either way.

Brake: It was fantastic. Honestly, I think I’ve died about 97 times in film and television, and this has to be one of my all-time favorites. The filming of it was so intense. And also, the two seasons to bring him to this point where he kind of breaks finally in that last second.

But to do all that work and to be working opposite Taylor, and then Jeremy [Renner] and Hugh [Dillon] there, and to have it build to that—it was a great scene. Was a great day shooting. I was exhausted by the end of it, but again, it’s just brilliant writing. The way they they set it up, the indecision, what’s going to happen with Kyle. They’re brilliant writers on the show. So honored to do it.

Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 is now streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.