‘Sons of Anarchy’ and ‘Mayans M.C.’ Creator Kurt Sutter Dishes on Possible Netflix Move

Kurt Sutter, the creator of Sons of Anarchy and co-creator of Mayans M.C., gave a new interview in The Hollywood Reporter where he addressed the idea of moving over to Netflix.

Mayans M.C. officially premieres on Tuesday night, but Sutter gave one final interview beforehand which was published early on Tuesday morning. In it, he talked about the massive development deals that Netflix has been making, and the possibility that he might get in on the action.

“Netflix is signing eight-, nine-figure overall deals left and right,” the interviewer pointed out. They asked if Sutter considered pitching to the streaming giant before going back to FX, where Sons of Anarchy lived for seven seasons.

“I don’t mean to sound self-effacing, but I don’t do this for the money,” Sutter said. “I do this so that I don’t end up swinging from a pipe by my neck. For me, money is about respect, and that is really important to me. So, if writer x is getting x, y, z, then I f—in’ better get x, y, z ’cause that’s the respect you owe me. So, in that regard, yes, money is a big, important part of that process ’cause I need to know that I’m valued and respected for me to show up and do what I need to do.”

“Whether money is a good motivator for that or expression of that is a different conversation,” he went on. “I know Ryan [Murphy] a little bit and I know how talented he is, and when you see that money the first thing that goes through your head is, ‘F—.’”

Sutter was referring to Ryan Murphy’s recent overall deal with Netflix, in which he creates new series and films there for the next five years, in exchange for as much as $300 million. The company made a similar deal with Shonda Rhimes, though before this year contracts of this magnitude had never been heard of before.

“As in, ‘F—, I want that’?” the interviewer asked. It was unclear whether or not Sutter was jealous of these deals, or had thought about pursuing one.

“Yeah, as in, ‘Oh my God, that’s f—in’ crazy,’” Sutter went on. “But a person like Ryan or Shonda [Rhimes] — and I mean this in the most envious and respectful way — they’re corporations. They’ve surrounded themselves with people and a process that allows them to generate a lot of content. And I marvel at that because I just don’t have that skill. I don’t trust people enough to go, ‘You do it.’ So it’s not that it’s not interesting to me, it’s just not my skill set.”

Whatever his feelings on other platforms, Sutter seems to have made a good choice with FX. The network has put a huge amount of resources behind Mayans M.C., advertising the series for all its worth all summer long. The show premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 10 p.m. ET on FX.