Kurt Sutter Reveals His Reaction to ‘The Bastard Executioner’ Cancellation

Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter recently sat down for a lengthy conversations about his career and his unceremonious firing from Mayans M.C., but during the conversation with Deadline, he also revealed his reaction to the cancellation of his second series, The Bastard Executioner. While speaking about how things went down between himself and FX — and the network’s new owner, Disney — Sutter went into the story of The Bastard Executioner, and eventually opened up about his feelings at the time it ended.

“I went from SOA right into The Bastard Executioner. I started the (writers’) room for Bastard while I was still finishing Sons,” Sutter shared. “TBX was an amazing experience. I’d never taken on a project of that magnitude before. As a writer or producer. Creating a medieval world. Using history and etymology to determine the vernacular.”

“Not only were set pieces, costumes and props researched for authenticity, but every line of dialog was researched to make sure it didn’t cross the line into modernity,” he added. “It was wholly satisfying.”

The TV writer/producer went on to explain that, while he loved the show, it “took a toll” on him.

“Not only was I acting in it, but we shot in Wales, I was living and doing post in London and my writers were in LA,” he recalled. “Throw into the mix that Kate and I would travel back home every couple of weeks to see the kids. It was physically and emotionally draining.”

Finally, Sutter opened about how he felt “when TBX was cancelled,” saying that he was honestly just “burnt out. Bad.”

“Not taking any down time was a mistake. I should have listened to my wife and my friend Paris Barclay, who advised me to take a season off,” he continued. “I think a part of me was afraid of losing the momentum of Sons. But mainly, I don’t like down time. I don’t relax, I just obsess. And when we didn’t get picked up for Season 2, I saw it as a failure. So fear and ego kicked in again. I felt I needed a win. So again, no down time.”

Sutter later said, very candidly, that he “did not want to come back and do another MC show,” explaining, “Besides seeming like an admission of only possessing a single creative skill set, I felt like I’d told all the stories I had in that world. But FX was eager to capitalize on the IP, and I had an interesting way into the world, so before I knew it, we were moving forward.”

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Sutter had been let go from Mayans, with co-creator Elgin James taking over going forward.

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