‘Mayans MC’ Co-Creator Elgin James Claims Series Helps Explore Personal ‘Damage’

Mayans MC co-creator Elgin James revealed that, despite initially wanting to keep his traumatic upbringing out of the show, writing for the show helps him explore the “damage inside” him.

James, along with co-creator Kurt Sutter and members of the cast of the Sons of Anarchy spinoff series, opened up about the new series during the Television Critics Association press tour Friday.

“I do know that I have these stories that I have to tell,” James said during the panel, first reported by Variety. “I have this damage inside me that I have to get out. And I don’t want any nice people who are worried about what I’m going to do for society to tell me I can’t tell my story.”

Mayans MC picks up four years after the conclusion of Sons of Anarchy, shifting focus toward the Latino outlaw motorcycle club that was at times either friend or foe of the Sons in the original series.

Fellow Mayans co-creator and Sons of Anarchy boss Sutter also said that his desire to to tell an authentic story led him to seek out someone like James to craft nuanced stories for complex characters.

“I was very aware that a white guy from Jersey shouldn’t be writing a show solely that takes place in a Latino subculture and it’s not because it wasn’t politically correct,” he said. “It was about what made the most sense creatively.”

He also complimented James, saying that when the two first met to discuss the show he knew almost immediately that he “was no longer the smartest guy at the table.”

Sutter went on to say that he never writes his characters with the idea that they are inherently bad or dangerous.

“I write them from the idea that they’re human beings with complex feelings, complex internal pressures, complex relationships,” he said.

The new series stars JD Pardo, as well as Edward James Olmos, Richard Cabral, Sarah Bolger, Raoul Trujillo, Michael Irby, Danny Pino, and Sons of Anarchy alum Emilio Rivera, who will be reprising his role as Marcus Alvarez, the President of the Mayans MC Oakland Charter.

In the weeks leading to the series premiere, many behind-the-scenes photos and teaser videos have been released, exciting fans for the next chapter in the Sons of Anarchy story.

Mayans MC premieres Sept. 4 at 10 p.m. ET on FX. But you can watch the premiere early on FX+.