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  | 306 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)
 
UGBAD
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 16  | Go to page: 
306 Comments
 
 
Wow what a Great Information about World Day its very nice informative post. thanks for the post.
Sep 27, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
Thanks for your information, it was really very helpfull..
Sep 27, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
Thanks for sharing nice information with us. i like your post and all you share with us is uptodate and quite informative, i would like to bookmark the page so i can come here again to read you, as you have done a wonderful job.
Sep 26, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
This article was very interesting and helpful to me. Thank you for telling us about your unique ideas. I will for sure tell my people about this.
Sep 26, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
Hi there. Very nice blog!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Wonderful .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds additionally…I am happy to locate a lot of useful info here within the post. Thanks for sharing…
Sep 22, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
DQQQASD
Sep 22, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
ADQQ1
Sep 22, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
SADASWQ
Sep 22, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
SDWQ
Sep 22, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
Thank you for participating in this website, don't forget to visit my website
Sep 21, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
I'm just seeking to models write-up. Its fantastic come across people today explain in words to the heart in combination with comprehension during this sizeable motif will likely be easily uncovered.
Sep 21, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
It’s difficult to find knowledgeable folks during this topic, but you could be seen as what happens you are referring to! Thanks
Sep 19, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
This is a good picture for all of you, don't forget to visit my website
Sep 19, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
Some really nice and useful info on this web site, also I conceive the design and style holds good features.
Sep 18, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
jasper
We give best legal support for many people if anyone want it kindly visit our site and get more information thanks.
Sep 16, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
Thanks for your submission. Another item is that just being a photographer includes not only problems in catching award-winning photographs but in addition hardships in establishing the best video camera suited to your needs and most especially struggles in maintaining the quality of your camera. This can be very true and obvious for those photography enthusiasts that are directly into capturing the nature’s eye-catching scenes : the mountains, the actual forests, the actual wild or even the seas. Going to these amazing places surely requires a digicam that can surpass the wild’s hard conditions.
Sep 14, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
Conexion hot new Latin Hip Hop single from Nieto. Produced y Super Producer DJ Solar. Hot track that plugs the gap in Underground Hip Hop and Latin Hip Hop!
Sep 13, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
As a web site owner I believe the material here is reallymagnificent. I appreciate it for your time. You should keep it up forever! Excellent Luck.
Sep 12, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
I truly appreciate this post. I have been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thx again
Sep 12, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
Solar Dark Side of the Sun is Solar’s answer to the fans who wanted to hear his earlier work, before Guru and Solar 7Grand records Classic catalog! Which scared many Gang Starr fans that Solar’s stellar production would eclipse dj premier and rival Gang Starr classics! As evidence Jazzmatazz vol 4 was the first Jazzmatazz album to attract Gang Starr fans as well as Hip Hop jazz and R&B fans to Solar Production and Guru’s reinvented Jazzmatazz series.
Sep 11, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 16  | Go to page: