Jun 18, 2026 By Mike Jones 3 min read

A little bit of Hollywood recently landed in Washington County.

A production crew for the television drama series “Mayor of Kingstown” starring actor Jeremy Renner visited the Washington County Airport two evenings last week to film scenes for the critically acclaimed show.

The series, which airs on Paramount’s subscription streaming network and is in its fifth and final season, has filmed in many parts of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania during its run, but this appears to be the show’s first visit to Washington County.

“They needed an airport and Washington County had the look they needed and fit the bill,” said Dawn Keezer, who is executive director at Pittsburgh Film Office.

It’s not known what scenes were shot or whether Renner, an Oscar-nominated actor who has appeared in numerous hit movies, including the Marvel Avengers saga, was on set for filming. Keezer said the production crew needed a nighttime setting with areas for driving scenes and a location with a small airport as a backdrop.

State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, who is a member of the Pittsburgh Film Office’s board, visited the set during filming last Thursday, although she did not make a cameo appearance in the show. Bartolotta said she was there for about an hour and watched as the crew filmed a chase scene using the airport’s taxiway.

“It was pretty neat,” Bartolotta said. “It was nice to see that our local county airport was getting some money and to be in a series that is very, very popular.”

She said the production employs about 800 people, 95% of whom are from Pennsylvania, so it generates jobs and revenue for local communities.

“It’s wonderful. It’s brought in so much money into Pennsylvania already. It’s fantastic,” Bartolotta said. “I know how lucrative the film industry can be for not only our state, but every municipality.”

In order to green light use of the airport facility off of Route 18 in South Franklin Township, the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington entered into a contract with Texas-based King Street Productions Inc., which paid the county $7,000 to be able to film on the property from June 9 to 15.

No other details of the contract were released, and Redevelopment Authority solicitor Colin Fitch said he could not comment on the production due to a confidentiality clause. The Observer-Reporter filed an open records request Wednesday asking for a copy of the contract, which is expected to be approved retroactively during the Washington County commissioners 10 a.m. meeting today.

Keezer is not sure how the “Mayor of Kingston” crew settled on the Washington County Airport, but said the Pittsburgh Film Office assists movie and television show productions find places around the area to film. She added that the show has been filming in Western Pennsylvania for five years, so advance scouts have knowledge of the area and the best places to shoot.

According to Paramount, the show follows the “power brokers” in the fictional town of Kingstown, Mich., “where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry.”

“Tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption and inequality, the series provides a stark look at their attempt to bring order and justice to a town that has neither,” according to the show’s description.

Keezer said the “Kingstown” crew has been a pleasure to work with over the past five years, offering great shots of Pittsburgh and the region.

“We’re going to miss them when they’re gone,” Keezer said of the final season being filmed this year. “We like getting out of Allegheny County and seeing other locations (in Western Pennsylvania).”