Posted in: FX, Hulu, TV, YouTube | Tagged: fx, inside of you, Kurt Sutter, mayans m.c., mayans mc, michael rosenbaum, sons of anarchy

Mayans M.C.: Kurt Sutter Addresses SOA Spinoff Series Departure & More

On Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of You podcast, Mayans M.C. co-creator Kurt Sutter offered some insights into his departure from the series.

Back in October 2019, word came down that Mayans M.C. co-creator Kurt Sutter had been fired from his role as co-showrunner heading into the third season of the Sons of Anarchy spinoff – with co-creator Elgin James taking over as the lone showrunner. Reportedly, the decision was made by FX CEO John Landgraf and Disney TV Studios and ABC Entertainment chairman Dana Walden and was based on "several complaints " made about Sutter's "behavior on the set of the series." The news came after Sutter had previously stated his intentions to step down from his role as co-showrunner on the series. Earlier that year, Sutter made waves at the official second season premiere by announcing that he was stepping down from his executive producer role if the series was picked up for a third season. The series co-creator emphasized that a series centered on a Mexican motorcycle gang based on the California-Mexico border should be spear-headed by a person of color: "It's time for the white man to leave the building."

Sutter notified the series' cast and crew of his departure via email (from exclusive reporting from The Hollywood Reporter). "Apparently, Disney HR and Business Affairs has conducted an investigation into the unacceptable conditions that have been created on the set of 'Mayans' in season 2. As you know, I've removed myself quite a bit this season, allowing others to take a bigger role in producing the show. It appears that philosophy has backfired," Sutter began his letter to the show's team.

"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. Or at least that's how Disney has interpreted it. I'm sure it's true." Confirming that he was fired by Walden and Landgraf, Sutter noted that being fired for "being an abrasive dick" was "on brand" for him. "I deeply apologize if I've made people feel less than or unsupported. My intention was literally the opposite. But clearly, I've not been paying attention. My arrogance and chronic distraction has created wreckage. Just know, I adore this cast and crew," he added.

This week, Sutter and Katey Sagal (Married with Children, Sons of Anarchy) checked in with Michael Rosenbaum on the latter's Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast – with the couple covering a wide range of personal and professional topics. Beginning at the 23:10 mark in the episode below, Sutter offers some insight into where he was mentally when his firing went down, having lunch recently with Landgraf, and how the experience helped lead him to a better place.

"It's a combination of external pressures. For me, it was I got a little bit lost in the pursuit of money, property, prestige – and sort of lost – not to get hokey here – but I kind of lost my spiritual center, right? And things that were truly important started to slide further and further and further and further down the list and then when that starts to happen, you know your esteem… I mean, your sense of self, your esteem is out the window, and then it's all self-sabotage from there on."

One person whom Sutter credits as being "a good friend and even probably a better friend now" is Landgraf, who kept in contact and whom Sutter had lunch with recently. Sutter noted that his departure from Mayans M.C. was "a bottom for me" – and that Landgraf forcing that separation was a move that Sutter thanks him for in the long run. In the process, Sutter shared that it gave him the time to get a better sense of what he was doing that was "not working" and was "destructive," potentially "hurting other people" in the process.

For Sutter, the pandemic had a sliver of a silver lining in that it gave him a chance to pause his projects and have the time to get a "greater sense of self and awareness," also in terms of "all my primary relationships." Sutter added, "It was like, 'All right, how do I do this?' I can either run away from it, or I can roll up my sleeves and do some work," noting that's when he believed that he began reconnecting with Sagal. Check out the entire interview above

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