"Mayans M.C." Showrunner Elgin James on Advancing Authenticity

Following the departure in 2019 of series showrunner Kurt Sutter cocreator and executive producer Elgin James became the series39 showrunner later directing several episodes in the series third season He39s been making changes throughoutSome of the most common themes throughout the series include brotherhood loyalty to family and protecting the ones you love no matter the cost While they39re certainly familiar they39re not themes we39ve seen from the perspective of a Latino brotherhood that is also dealing with race issues and immigrationquotBlack and brown people have been seen through the white gaze as criminals and felons and something scary or lifted up as the 39token minority39quot James said quotWe caught a bit of flack in the first season because we were leaning into these stereotypes They39re telling these actors andamp160writers who39ve lived in this world not necessarily in an MC but who39ve lived in poverty among violence being in gangs or in prison generation after generation that we can39t tell our stories That39s why I wanted to change the title sequence This didn39t happen in a vacuumquotJames was referring to the show39s new opening titles which features old black and white photos of LatinAmerican immigrants in early 20th century America highlighting the journey they embarked across generationsKnown for bringing much of his own life experiences to his work James said of the many vivid characters on the show quotThere39s a bit of me in everyonequot he said quotThere39s so much of me in Angel Clayton Cardenas above left and his brother EZ JD Pardo above right You try and pour out all of your damage and heartbreak and maybe even some hope onto the pagequotPerhaps it39s the extra care he has given to their characters but James has been profoundly moved by the relationships that have formed between the actors on the show since he took the reins in 2019 quotI can39t explain the depth of my gratitude and love for these peoplequot he said quotThey come on and bring this whole other element to it For example I got to spend a lot of time this season with Danny Pino the actor who plays Miguel Galindo while I was directing five episodes There was an entire episode where we took a break from his storyline and he was still there with us every day we were shooting To be able to write for these characters after knowing them for the last three to four years has just been an absolute honor and to see what they39ve done with it is just incrediblequotDuring the hiatus I told them 39Hey we39ve been given this shot We may not get another one in this lifetime so we need everyone to come and be ready to leave it all out on the field39 We needed every scene to be a heavyweight battle between the actors and that is exactly what happened They went to extremes I never could39ve even dreamed of more than what was ever on the page I39m so fcking gratefulquotAs the series has progressed it has only gotten darker and grittier much like the consciences of EZ Angel and the rest of the Mayans with Angel in a particularly chaotic downward spiral after losing Adelita Viewers can39t help but wonder if any of them will get a shot at redemption this season or everquotWe came in this season and thought are these people finding their souls or losing their soulsquot James reflected quotIt39ll be surprising who ends up on either side of that I think there39s a way to write television to write anything from the outside looking in We wrote this and acted this from the inside out This is everyone39s guts sort of laid out for the world to see It felt organic who ends up where and who gets their shot at redemption But some may not get their shot Some have made terrible decisionsquotI myself have made some terrible life decisions and I39m very fortunate for having an incredible partner in my wife and that39s kind of the theme of this seasonquot he added quotWomen are tough as shit Men are little children We can stay little babies our entire lives We throw tantrums and pound our chests while women have to grow up way before we doquotThat sentiment amp8211 or observation amp8211 goes a long way toward explaining why the Mayans MC writing team skews heavily female quotWhen we started the show there was a reason we had more female writers than male writersquot James asserted quotThis is the season we really get to tell that story of how strong women are You39ve got Bishop and Peamp241a his ex who went through something tragic together and how he39s just spiraled downward into the dark and continues to make these awful decisions that put everyone at risk of pure catastrophe Meanwhile Pena has tried to pick up the slack and get her shit together to stay in the light which is so much harderquotThen there39s Gabby and EZ39s love story and we39re showing Gabby through this male gaze she brings this light to the family and keeps them out of the dark that39s lurking underneathquot he said quotAnd when we come to find out who she really is she39s chosen that light She39s been through stuff in her journey from southern Mexico to the States that39s way worse than other characters couldn39t even dream of She is tough as shit and is making the choice to embrace the lightquotThat39s why it39s important for us to tell our stories and to keep it grounded and realquot James said quotWe spent two seasons where it was like 39We39re in trouble Time to call the white guys to come save us That39s the mythology Kneel down to the white saviors drop a racist joke and we go on our wayamp8230 fck that shitquotThis is our show now this is our storyquot he concluded quotWe39re so grateful to Kurt but everyone knew this was our one shot We all come from different walks of lifequotMayans MC is telecast on Tuesdays at 10 pm on FX Each episode is available for streaming the next day at FX on HuluClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content 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"Mayans M.C." Showrunner Elgin James on Advancing Authenticity

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