Every ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Connection You Need to Know Going Into the ‘Mayans M.C.’ Spinoff

Mayans M.C. will be its own show, but the series is set in the same universe as Sons of Anarchy, meaning there will be plenty of connections between the two shows. Like any other spin-off from a beloved original series, Mayans M.C. will weave subtle references to Jax Teller’s world throughout the series.

Kurt Sutter, who created Sons of Anarchy and developed Mayans M.C. with Elgin James, said the two worlds will “intersect,” even though they are set in different regions of California.

Sons of Anarchy originally ran from 2008 to 2014 and was set in Charming, California, a fictional town in the Central Valley. Mayans M.C. is set hundreds of miles away, close to the U.S.-Mexico border. It is there where we find Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes (J.D. Pardo), whose life is scarred by cartel violence. He decides to join the Mayans M.C. out of vengeance.

Scroll on for a look at the connections between Sons of Anarchy and Mayans M.C.

Emilio Rivera as Marcus Alvarez

The biggest and most consistent connection audiences will see is Emilio Rivera reprising his role as Marcus Alvarez, the president of the Mayans MC Oakland Charter. He is also the cousin of Michael Irby’s Obispo “Bishop” Losa, the president of the Santo Padre Chapter.

Rivera appeared in 31 episodes of SOA, including six in the show’s final season.

Katey Sagal Cameos in the Premiere

Although this was meant to be a surprise, Sutter revealed during the Television Critics Association Press Tour that Katey Sagal appears in the the premiere episode as her SOA character, Gemma Teller Morrow in a flashback.

“It’s a flashback to eight years ago and a way of letting us know that he’s in Stockton where the two worlds will collide, at least in memory,” Sutter said.

Jax Teller’s Children Might Appear

Mayans M.C. picks up three years after Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) died. This means his sons Abel and Thomas would be 10 and 6 years old, respectively. During the TCA panel, Sutter hinted at possibly bringing Abel and Thomas into Mayans M.C., or at least exploring their stories in the future.

“I do think it would be interesting to see Jax’s sons faced with the reality of who their father was,” Sutter said. “Jax basically said [to ex-wife] Wendy, ‘Do not paint my existence and my life in any glamorous way. Tell my sons that I’m a scum, and I’m a murderer, and they should have nothing to do with me,’ because he didn’t want them to face the same obstacles, the same draw to lineage that he had. To me, there’s potentially something interesting to see how that may manifest. But that would be down the line.”

‘Mayans M.C.’ Is Set Three Years After ‘Sons of Anarchy’

Mayans M.C. starts three years after the events of Sons of Anarchy, and will feature flashbacks to explore EZ’s past.

“The show takes place in real time, so it’s post-Jax Teller. Three years or so has passed,” Sutter explained at San Diego Comic Con. “I’m really protective of that mythology and the way it ended and letting fans — whether they enjoyed it or not — to have that experience and their idea of how that club continued and how those relationships continued.”

SOA never employed flashbacks, since Jax was always being reminded of the past organically, through other characters as he tried to live up to his father’s legacy. In Mayans M.C., EZ is starting in the club fresh, and viewers will have to learn how he ended up where he is through peeks into his past.

Jax Teller Memorial

It’s not clear if a Jax Teller memorial will actually be seen during Mayans M.C., but one was shown in a teaser FX released in July.

The 30-second commercial showed a group of Mayans riding by a Jax memorial on the side of a road. As the camera pulled out, the bikers moved into two single-file lines.

‘Sons of Anarchy’ Tattoo Featured in Teaser

Just to make sure everyone knows that Mayans M.C. is connected to Sons of Anarchy, FX released one teaser in June showing the familiar Sons of Anarchy back tattoo. The camera moves in, then pulls back to reveal the Mayans M.C. logo.

“Prepare to patch over. Ride with Mayans M.C. this Fall on FX,” the caption read.

Frankie Loyal Delgado Finally Joins the ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Franchise

Frankie Loyal Delgado plays Hank “El Tranq” Loza, a Sergeant at Arms and full patch member of the Mayans M.C. His connection to Sons of Anarchy is that he auditioned for a role on the show but did not get it. The moment he heard about Sutter working on a spin-off, he insisted on auditioning and finally got to work for the creator.

“I got called in to audition. I just wanted an opportunity to audition,” Delgado said last month. “That was intense. When I got the phone call that I had actually booked the gig, I kind of had to punch myself the whole day ’cause I really didn’t believe it happened. Super grateful, like a lot of the guys, to be here.”

‘Mayans M.C.’ Will ‘Intersect’ With ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Without Interfering

Mayans MC will “intersect” with the Sons of Anarchy world without interfering with how audiences feel about the way that show ended, Sutter explained during SDCC. The difficulty is figuring out a balance between establishing Mayans M.C. as its own show while still referencing the world audiences are familiar with.

“Right now there’s no intersecting stories that will interfere with that,” Sutter said, reports Vulture. “Sons was a big world. There were a lot of peripheral players and charters. That’s the nature of the world; there is a relationship between the Mayans and the Sons. We’ll see those points of intersection this season and throughout the series as well. But it’s a balance. I want to acknowledge that world and find opportunities to circle that again. And yet, I don’t want to abuse it.”

‘Mayans M.C.’ Debuts Next Month

Aside from J.D. Pardo as EZ, the rest of the cast includes Edward James Olmos, Jacqueline Obradors, Antonio Jaramillo, Richard Cabral, Clayton Cardenas, Sarah Bolger and Emilio Rivera.

Joseph Raymond Lucero, Frankie Loyal Delgado, Carla Baratta, Maurice Compte, Efrat Dor, Alexandra Barreto, Raoul Trujillo, Michael Irby, Danny Pino and Vincent “Rocco” Vargas round out the main cast.

Mayans M.C. debuts Tuesday, Sept. 4 on FX. The network is also releasing the pilot early on Sept. 1 on the FX+ streaming service.