‘Mayans M.C.’ Creator Kurt Sutter Reveals Why He Revisited ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Universe

Mayans M.C. premiered on FX on Tuesday, Sept. 4, bringing viewers into the world of the Mayans M.C. charter on the California/Mexico border in the new Sons of Anarchy spinoff.

Sons ended in 2014, and Mayans marks the first time fans have been able to return to the universe created by showrunner Kurt Sutter, who also created Mayans.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Sutter explained his decision to return to the world of Sons, albeit in a different way.

“I just wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons,” Sutter said. “I came into this project with a sense of, like, ‘OK, this is a thing that makes sense and I need to work and how do we do this.’ And it was [Mayans co-creator] Elgin James’ excitement about this world and this project that really made me excited about TV again.”

He also noted that he wanted to find someone knowledgeable about the Latinx culture heavily featured on Mayans.

“I didn’t think that it made creative sense to be the sole voice of a show that takes place in an entirely different culture,” Sutter shared. “I’d seen buddies of mine — great writers — try to do it on other shows and have failed miserably. So, I knew that I wanted to find a writer of color who knows the world and I met with a lot of writers, both men and women.”

Speaking to GameSpot, Mayans showrunner Elgin James shared that Sutter made sure his Sons universe stayed intact in the world of Mayans.

“What’s really interesting is it’s actually Kurt who asked [us to] the police that line,” James revealed. “We’re so in love with the mythology, and we’re so in love with the world. While realizing that we have to stick our flag in the ground as a new show, we’re also just such fans of what happened in the past.”

He added that Sutter had one steadfast rule, explaining, “The mythology couldn’t be messed with.”

“Like whatever happened with Sons, whatever happened there, there’s no changing that,” James added. “We couldn’t do anything that would in any way have an effect on that universe.”

Sutter told Deadline that Sonsmythology will have a place on Mayans occasionally, with the premiere episode of Mayans even featuring a flashback scene featuring Gemma Teller (Katey Sagal).

“I was always very protective of that Sons mythology, even though I want it to live on in the minds of the fans and not alter that,” he explained. “I feel like I can still tap into the world without commenting on that. There will be intersections, we’ll see familiar faces in a way that won’t impact or suggest how life has continued in Samcro in Northern Cali.”

Mayans M.C. airs Tuesdays on FX.

Photo Credit: FX