Synopsis: Mayor of Kingstown (2021)

“Mayor of Kingstown” follows the McCluskey family, who run a prison business in the town of Kingstown. The protagonist as Mike McCluskey, and he indirect manages seven prisons in a single 10-mile radius with 20,000 prisoners with the help of his position as mayor. Mike's gig is a contraband operation in which he cats tennis balls with illicit goods over the walls of the prison. Set in a town where prisons are the main industry, the tale explores complex themes of power, corruption and survival.

Characters:

• Mike McCluskey: The current mayor of Kingstown and the head of the prison business. He'll arrange the smuggling of the drugs and also oversee the various gangs in the prisons. Mike is shown as a strategic leader who is also ruthless and inherited the family business from his father.
• Mitch McCluskey: Mike’s brother and the former mayor of Kingstown. Here, Mike is more of a cold-hearted figure and Mitch more sympathetic; He helps people with their personal problems, like moving a man's daughter from one prison to another, so that the girl can be out of harm's way. Mitch’s tragic murder triggers a cascade of events that plunges Mike deeper into the smoky side of prison politics.
• Miriam McCluskey: The mother of Mike and Mitch, who is a professor and disapproves of her sons’ foray into the prison business. She is portrayed as the virtuous character, to serve as the foil in contrast to her sons' corrupt world.
• Kyle McCluskey: The youngest Unlucky McCluskey brother, a police officer married to Tracy. Kyle gets drawn into the family’s nefariousness, particularly following Mitch’s death, and grows more entangled in the prison business.
• Ed: A prison officer who has a close working relationship with Mike. He plays a significant role in the smuggling operations and helps maintain order within the prisons.
• Vera: The spouse of a convict called Milo Sunter. She’s come to Mitch to ask for a favor, to get something back for her husband, and things go badly from there. And Ramos, a gangster, murders Vera, saying it makes him one of the good guys.
• Milo Sunter: A hardened criminal and gang leader who orchestrates various illegal activities from within prison. His influence extends outside the prison walls, causing problems for Mike and his operations.
• Bunny: The gang leader and some sort of talking head for the black community. As Mike and Bunny scheme and plot, Bunny has a hot and cold relationship — and there is DEFINITELY conflict here.
• Ramos: A gangster who kills Vera and takes her map, causing Mitch’s death. His actions trigger a violent chain reaction that threatens to torpedo the tenuous peace in Kingstown.
• Daryl: A male black prisoner who terrifies new prison officer Sam. His actions and their aftermath add to the existing racial tensions and gang cliques in the prisons.
• Sam: A new prison officer who becomes the target of Daryl's intimidation and violence. His struggle to assert himself reflects the perilous setting within the prisons.
• Iris: A young woman working for Milo, sent to Kingstown to handle assignments for him. Her involvement adds another layer to the criminal activities surrounding the McCluskey family.

Plot Details:

The story gets underway with Mike making a deal with a boy to throw a tennis ball filled with contraband over the prison wall, setting up the smuggling operation’s operating procedure. As Mitch continues to navigate different requests for assistance, Vera shows up and asks Mitch to help her with obtaining something for her incarcerated husband, Milo. That seemingly routine request goes haywire when Vera is killed by Ramos, who subsequently slays Mitch while holding him up in a robbery.

Mike has stepped into Mitch’s shoes and is struggling with the aftermath of his brother’s murder. Gang leaders such as Bunny and Duke all have their own agendas and put pressure on him from all sides. Mike has another set of challenges to deal with in his racially charged prisons, made worse by incidents like the one involving Sam and Daryl.

In the series, Mike tries to maintain control and keep the peace of the name on Kingstown, even as personal loss and the demands of his position relentlessly pull at his social fabric. Murder in Gonzalez: The Myth of Southern Hospitality It is a small town divided by entrenched divisions, but the myth of Southern hospitality hangs airily over the characters, who are reluctant to mesh.