How did Iris die in Mayor of Kingstown? Character's fate, revisited 

The season 3 finale episode of Mayor of Kingstown ends with the most tragic death of the show, featuring Iris dying from an overdose.

This moment shocked many viewers. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in 2024 after the episode's release, co-creator Hugh Dillon clarified that what happened to Iris wasn't a suicide but an accident.

Dillon explained that the act of overdose was accidental and not intentional. The makers wanted to portray life in its most harsh and unfiltered form. Dillon drew from his own experience and the struggles of the people he grew up around.

Mayor of Kingstown showed no rising music, or chase, or trauma, but simply showed her unresponsive body in a bus, creating a shocking effect among viewers. Dillon expressed that with this, they wanted to portray how opium addiction can be unpredictable, brutal, and tragically common, too.

Keep reading to know more.

Here is how Iris dies in Mayor of Kingstown

As mentioned, season 3 of Mayor of Kingstown dropped in 2024 and featured the most tragic death. Iris dies at the end because of a drug overdose. When Iris is forced to shoot Konstantin by Milo, a brutal confrontation follows, with Mike killing Milo and Iris getting a clean pass to leave the town. In the bus, deeply shaken by what has happened, she pops a few pills, leading to the accidental overdose.

After the episode's release, the co-creator, Hugh Dillon, expressed how the show's intention behind Iris' death was to reflect the reality associated with people who are battling addiction and the unpredictable nature of life. He added that the reason behind the death is not suicide but an accident. He said,

“She didn’t take her life; it was an accidental overdose. You know, that’s part of the authenticity of the show and where I grew up. I had struggled with heroin early on in my life, and I’ve had a lot of friends who passed away from [that]; opioid addiction is a real thing.''

He further praised Emma Laird's performance as Iris and called it extraordinary compared to what was written in the script. He said,

“But I will say, what Emma Laird did with that character was extraordinary, beyond the page for sure. When you saw that last sequence, like you said, it broke your heart. And that’s what we wanted it to do."

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He also recalled what Taylor Sheridan (co-creator of Mayor of Kingstown), the mind behind Yellowstone, has taught him. He has learnt to always make your story reflect reality. The makers wanted to give out a heartbreaking end to the story, and the fans have felt the same, marking their success in doing so.

"She worked so very hard on the series, and she was asked to do really difficult things, and she brought it. She left everything in the field. From the work she did in season one, it was just a fully developed character. And we are very grateful for her as a person and as an actor. For someone like you to say it broke your heart, we did our job," he said.

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