Nathan Thomas
After sixteen months in limbo, Mayans MC is set to return to FX on tuesday, March 16th. Kurt Sutter, unfortunately, is not set to return. Most Sons of Anarchy fans already know the history between Sutter and Disney, but for the unfamiliar, the situation went down like this. According to Disney, they removed Sutter from his position after collecting a series of HR reports from cast and crew about his “unprofessional” behavior. Sutter claims that he “stepped on toes and bruised egos”, which resulted in him being cut from the production of the show. Whether Sutter was or wasn’t in the wrong isn’t the question. More important is whether or not fans are going to bother to watch the show at all.
Most Sons of Anarchy fans were disappointed with season one of Mayans MC. As were critics and non-SOA fans alike. While season two was reviewed more favorably, it was (allegedly) impeded by corporate executives at Disney and FX. Sutter has gone on record and said that he had to “dumb down the story” and face “insane PC restraints”. The vision that Sutter had for Mayans is already dead. Instead, we’re getting the lukewarm Disney version. Does that mean you should skip the premier if you’re a fan of Mayans MC? Not necessarily. But there are pros and cons.
Pros:
- Sutter is a visionary, but that doesn’t mean the show can’t go in an interesting direction without him. They could bring in someone that grows the show into a good standalone project from SOA.
- Supporting Sutter’s vision is still supporting Sutter, even if he has beef with the company in charge of said vision.
- The show will still have plenty of SOA fan favorites making appearances, and watching the show will support them.
Cons:
- The show will be dissonant with Sutter’s original vision
- Any themes that Disney find “objectionable” will be stripped from the season
- It probably won’t be considered “canon” if Sutter returns to make First Nine or Sam Crow
- The writing/feel/vibe might be off.
Personally, I won’t be catching the new season. Not only do I think what Disney did to Kurt is despicable, but I don’t like the show. Sons of Anarchy was lightning in a bottle. I think that Mayans was a decent idea. But, you can’t follow genius with average. I just didn’t fall in love with the club and the characters like I did with Jax and the boys. On top of that, Sutter knew the story/characters/club backwards and forwards. It was his brain child. Taking someone else’s characters and trying to work them is a monumental task for any writing staff. If I couldn’t get hooked in by Sutter, I doubt they’re going to get me with anyone they bring in to take his place.
Whether or not I like the show, I hope it does well. If you’re a fan, great! If not, that’s totally cool.
I just know I’ll be watching SOA on March 16th.
