'Mayans M.C' Renewed for Season 3 Despite Kurt Sutter Ousting

Before the Mayans M.C. Season 2 finale airs on FX, the network renewed the Sons of Anarchy spin-off series for a third season. The decision to keep the show going came just weeks after Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter was fired from the series, although he was already making plans to hand over creative reigns to co-creator Elgin James. The series stars J.D. Pardo as EZ Reyes, a new member of the titular motorcycle club first seen in Sons of Anarchy.

"We're happy to continue telling the story of Mayans M.C. with our partners at Fox 21 and excited that Elgin James has earned the opportunity to become the series' showrunner," Nick Grad, President, Original Programming, FX Entertainment, said in a statement. "Kurt Sutter identified and chose Elgin as his partner on the show from the outset and Elgin has been instrumental to the success of the series, leveraging his experience and creative vision to make Mayans M.C. with this incredible cast, crew and creative team."

"Keeping this vibrant series strong is a huge priority to everyone at Fox 21 Television Studios, FX Productions and of course FX, which has been a spectacular home and platform for both Mayans M.C. and Sons before it," Fox 21 TVS President Bert Salke added.

In its renewal announcement, FX touted the show's strong ratings. During the second season, the show ranked #6 in the 18-49 demographic among cable scripted shows. The series' second season averaged 4.6 million total viewers.

FX and Disney, the network's new parent company, fired Sutter on Oct. 18, reportedly due to "multiple complaints" about his behavior. In one of several statements made on the issue, Sutter admitted that he "removed myself quite a bit this season, allowing others to take a bigger role in producing the show," and said the philosophy "backfired."

"It's been reported by writers, producers, cast and crew that my absence and subsequent behavior when there, has only created confusion, chaos, hostility and is perceived as abandonment," Sutter wrote in a memo. "Or at least that's how Disney has interpreted it. I'm sure it's true."

Last week, Sutter did an interview with Deadline, in which he claimed he never really wanted to do a Sons of Anarchy spinoff centered on another motorcycle club.

"I did not want to come back and do another MC show. 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," Sutter explained. "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. I knew that a white guy shouldn't be the voice of a Latin culture drama. So I brought on Elgin [James] and saw my primary creative responsibility as handling the transition from the SOA mythology to the Mayans mythology."

The Mayans M.C. Season 2 finale airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET. Season 3 will air in Fall 2020.

Photo credit: FX