Kurt Sutter has reasons for holding off on revisiting the “Sons of Anarchy” franchise for almost 4 years. And no, it wasn’t just because he wanted to make time for his next FX series, which didn’t fair so well.
“Yeah, I planned on ‘The Bastard Executioner’ bombing and only lasting a season,” the FX series’ creator joked during the Television Critics Association press tour Friday, when asked if he planned out the timeline between the end of the Charlie Hunnam-led drama and the debut of its upcoming spinoff “Mayans M.C.” “All part of my big plan.”
“No, no,” he continued. “You know, at Season 5, 6 or 7 [of ‘Sons of Anarchy’] we knew we wanted to continue the IP. We knew this was an idea we liked. Both [FX CEO] John Landgraf and myself knew that we didn’t want to do it on the heels of ‘Sons’ and sort of cannibalize the IP. We knew we wanted to put a few years in between it. We didn’t know how that would navigate around doing another show. And look, I joke about it, but the truth is things happen the way they do and enough time had passed where it made sense to now dive into this world. I didn’t have a choice it was sort of decided for me. [laughs]”
“Mayans M.C.” follows Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes (JD Pardo), who is fresh out of prison and a prospect in the Mayans M.C. charter on the California/Mexico border. Now, EZ must carve out his new identity in a town where he was once the golden boy with the American Dream in his grasp.
Along with Pardo, the series stars Clayton Cardenas, Edward James Olmos, Sarah Bolger, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Antonio Jaramillo, Raoul Max Trujillo, Richard Cabral and Danny Pino. Recurring stars include Emilio Rivera, Frankie Loyal, Joseph Lucero, Vincent Rocco Vargas, Maurice Compte, Gino Vento, Tony Plana and Ada Maris.
“Mayans M.C.” was co-created by Sutter and Elgin James, and executive produced by Sutter and Norberto Barba (who directed the first two episodes), with James co-executive producing. The 10-episode first season hails from Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions.
“Mayans M.C.” premieres September 4 on FX.