DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
 
 
 
How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James
March 30, 2021  | By Mike Hughes  | 1114 comments
 


It's a small, quiet prison scene in a show known for big, noisy ones. And it packs the emotional power we expect from Mayans M.C.

On one side of the glass is Alicia (Denise G. Sanchez), who hasn't been in jail before; on the other is EZ (JD Pardo), who has.

"Anything you try to keep – hope – will just get destroyed" in prison, he tells her. "So kill it first . . .. Shut it all down."

Her question: "When I get out, how do I turn it back on?"

That's a question for Elgin James (top, right), who's been on both sides of the glass. He's the co-creator and producer of Mayans, which airs at 10 p.m. ET, Tuesdays on FX, then goes to Hulu. He's in charge of a much-praised drama; he's also spent a year in prison.

"You see people at their worst," James said by phone. "Obviously, there are moments of brotherhood, too. But sometimes, you have to turn it off."

And afterward? At worst, he said, you can be "incapable of joy . . .. How do you turn it on again?"

That fits into his world of contrasts: Mayans has fierce action, yet surprising subtlety; it ripples with machismo yet has a growing female power.

"Women are as tough as sh*t," James said. "Men get to be babies their whole lives." He remembers that at home: "My mother was like 100 pounds; my dad was 350 pounds, but he would have tantrums."

Both Mayans and its predecessor (Sons of Anarchy) are rooted in a macho world – all-male motorcycle clubs selling drugs and weapons, often amid brawls and shoot-outs.

Sons was created by Kurt Sutter, whose wife (Katey Sagal) played the wife of the club leader. It ran seven seasons, drawing some of cable's highest Nielsen ratings; it also received a Golden Globe for Sagal and a Television Critics Association nomination as best drama.

When it ended, FX wanted a spin-off about the Latino bikers who sometimes collided with the Sons. Sutter created it with James, who has mixed ethnicity and experience in the shows' tough world.

Raised in foster homes, he was arrested at 12 and sent to juvenile hall at 14. He made it into college at 17 but was soon severely beaten in a gang fight. James became homeless, then turned to punk rock and a group called FSU (in polite circles, Friends Stand United), which sometimes confronted drug-dealers and white supremacists.

He eventually pulled out of that, landed a spot in the Sundance Screenwriters lab (2009), and wrote and directed Little Birds (2011). Some critics hated it, some liked it, and the National Board of Review called it one of the year's ten best independent films.

James also landed a deal to write the movie Lowriders, except that everything went on hold. In the interim, he'd been arrested for a crime committed in 2005; convicted of extortion, he was sentenced in 2011. "I was supposed to be redeeming myself, and then this."

James doesn't deny the crime (extorting a white supremacist) and jokes that he was the only prisoner who actually was guilty. After prison, he finished the script; Lowriders finally came out in 2016.

Two years later, Mayans debuted, with a protagonist (EZ) a lot like James – a college-bound guy whose life detoured into prison. And two years after that, FX fired Sutter, putting James solely in charge. (It was always Sutter's plan, James said, for him to take over in the third season.)

Mayans has always had an expanded scope, he said. "Even in the first two seasons, there were more women in the writers' room than men."

One strong scene – a border transfer – had five tough-talking characters, all of them female. Even the show's gentlest figure (Gaby, EZ's sometimes-girlfriend, played by Sulem Calderon) brings depth. "She just has this light about her," James said. "But she's been through darker stuff than all the guys can imagine." 

Life is like that sometimes. Darkness leads to light; dark twists lead to great television.

 
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
RNUDJ
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 56  | Go to page: 
1114 Comments
 
 
???????????????????????????
Dec 13, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
Thank you for the update, very nice site..
Dec 13, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
gold-backed IRA
Roth IRA gold coins are IRS-approved physical gold coins held within a Roth Individual Retirement Account. This investment allows for tax-free growth and withdrawals, combining the benefits of precious metals with the advantages of a Roth IRA for a diversified retirement strategy. gold-backed IRA
Dec 13, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
roth IRA gold coins
Roth IRA gold coins are IRS-approved physical gold coins held within a Roth Individual Retirement Account. This investment allows for tax-free growth and withdrawals, combining the benefits of precious metals with the advantages of a Roth IRA for a diversified retirement strategy. roth IRA gold coins
Dec 13, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
i was just browsing along and came upon your blog. just wanted to say good blog and this article really helped me.
Dec 13, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
Nice post! This is a very nice blog that I will definitively come back to more times this year! Thanks for informative post.
Dec 12, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
I was surfing the Internet for information and came across your blog. I am impressed by the information you have on this blog. It shows how well you understand this subject.
Dec 12, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
I was surfing the Internet for information and came across your blog. I am impressed by the information you have on this blog. It shows how well you understand this subject.
Dec 12, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
We have sell some products of different custom boxes.it is very useful and very low price please visits this site thanks and please share this post with your friends.
Dec 12, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
I like your post. It is good to see you verbalize from the heart and clarity on this important subject can be easily observed...
Dec 12, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
John
Well-written and useful information. Anyone who uses it, including me, will benefit. I will check out more posts every day.
Dec 12, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
Wonderful article. Fascinating to read. I love to read such an excellent article. Thanks! It has made my task more and extra easy. Keep rocking.
Dec 12, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
I am thankful to you for sharing this plethora of useful information. I found this resource utmost beneficial for me. Thanks a lot for hard work.
Dec 12, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
Contract administration must be automated if you wish to stay up with the rapid pace of your company. Making interactive documents with fillable fields is possible with the feature-rich document editor at Airslate with eSignature for Contracts, try it out today.
Dec 11, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
Efficiently written information. It will be profitable to anybody who utilizes it, counting me. Keep up the good work. For certain I will review out more posts day in and day out.
Dec 11, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
You understand your projects stand out of the crowd. There is something unique about them. It seems to me all of them are brilliant.
Dec 11, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
All your hard work is much appreciated. Nobody can stop to admire you. Lots of appreciation.
Dec 9, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
I really appreciate this wonderful post that you have provided for us. I assure this would be beneficial for most of the people.
Dec 8, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
Cryptocurrency has taken over the world and investors are heavily investing in online trading applications to benefit from crypto trading.
Dec 7, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
It includes several headings, such as the most recent updates on Bitcoin and Ethereum, also as the upcoming metaverse and highly specialized information on digital tokens.
Dec 6, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 56  | Go to page: