New biker drama revs up
EXISTING in the biker world of Sons of Anarchy, Mayans M.C. has very little in common with its precursor.
The new drama from Sons creator Kurt Sutter focuses on Ezekiel ‘‘EZ’’ Reyes (J.D. Pardo), a brilliant young man headed to college who through circumstance instead becomes a prospective member of a Latino biker club along the California-Mexico border, a few hundred miles south of the SAMCRO crew on Sons.
‘‘We wanted our antihero to not be of the world. Unlike [Sons’] Jax, EZ is not the prince. He’s not supposed to be there . . . EZ [was] this golden boy, offthecharts smart, an athlete,’’ Sutter said. ‘‘He was an anomaly because of his intelligence and his talent and he was destined for a different life before it got snatched away.’’
The series opens about three years after the conclusion of Sons, which featured the demise of Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam). It includes a Mayans leader from that show, Marcus Alvarez (Emilio Rivera), along with cameos of Sons stars in the present day (Robert Patrick’s Les Packer) and flashbacks (Katey Sagal’s Gemma).
EZ joins his brother Angel (Clayton Cardenas) in the club, which operates in fictional Santo Padre in California’s Imperial Valley, and relies on advice and emotional support from his father, Felipe (Edward James Olmos).
Sutter, ‘‘aware a white guy from New Jersey should not solely write a story in the Latino culture’’, has partnered with writer Elgin James, a ‘‘melting pot of many different cultures [who] has an amazing background’’.
James knows the world in which
Mayans is based. ‘‘I grew up in a world of gangs and violence . . . A lot of people in Mayans grew up in a cycle of poverty, violence and incarceration and this is the first time we get to tell our stories from the inside out.’’
Sutter introduced a northern California Mayans club in Sons and has been playing with the idea of a series about that group for a few years. He also hopes to make a Sons prequel that would be a limited series.
As for graphic violence, a trait
Mayans shares with Sons, Rivera said it’s ‘‘a watereddown version of what’s out there’’.
Olmos, a TV and film veteran whose credits run from Miami Vice to
Battlestar Galactica, said Mayans marks a turning point in the depiction of traditionally underrepresented Latinos on TV.
‘‘I think this show is going to move the needle,’’ he said. ‘‘This thing is going to shoot us right through the roof.’’
He also warned viewers to put on their seat belts. ‘‘If you think Dexter was tough, Kurt and Elgin? What a duo!’’
Mayans M.C. premieres tomorrow at 9.30pm on SoHo. It is also available to stream via Neon.