Mayans M.C.'s Kurt Sutter Will Step Down as Co-Showrunner After Season 2

Kurt Sutter, the co-creator of Sons of Anarchy's popular spin-off Mayans M.C., says he will step down as co-showrunner should the FX show be renewed for a third season. He revealed his plans to hand over the reins to co-creator Elgin James at the show's second season premiere on Tuesday, according to Deadline. However, Sutter won't be exiting the popular biker drama completely.

Joking that "it's time for the white man to leave the building," he said he would still be involved as a producer of the series, which focuses on a Latino biker gang on the California-Mexico border, but that "for this show to establish its own unique mythology, one that I believe can be more potent and relevant than Sons, it has to be guided by a fresh voice. A voice of color, a voice that is still haunted by the struggle. And that voice belongs to Elgin James."

Everything We Know About Mayans M.C. Season 2 So Far

For what it's worth, it seems that Sutter has been aware of the optics of a white man co-showrunning the series since the start, often trying to direct interviewers at events promoting the show to ask questions of James and the show's sprawling Latino cast instead, sometimes even joking that he would answer one more question and then leave. Additionally, while previewing the series at the ATX Television Festival last year prior to the show's premiere, Sutter said he knew a white guy "shouldn't be writing solely about the Latino culture."

"Sons was about working class white guys, and even though I didn't grow up in a motorcycle club, I grew up in working class white guy neighborhood. So, I always felt I could honor that world and I wasn't full of sh--," he said. "I knew I wanted to do this project and I wanted to bring in a voice that was real and that was not a white guy. I met with a lot of writers of mixed race [and who were] Latino. I met with Elgin ... and if you know anything about Elgin, you know he's the real deal, and he understands the Mayans and outlaw [culture]. He understands survival. ... This guy knows the life."

Mayans M.C. follows EZ Reyes (JD Pardo), a prospect in the Santo Padre charter of the Mayans motorcycle club. The show's second season picks up approximately six to eight months after the events of the Season 1 finale, and Sutter promised that the "narrative arcs that we set up in Charming will find their conclusion in Santo Padre" by the end of the season, something that should also help James as he takes over complete control of the showrunning process in the future.

Mayans M.C. returns for its second season on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 10/9c on FX.