FX's popular drama about motorcycle dirtbags, Sons of Anarchy, ended after seven seasons and is currently trying to continue the franchise in the form of a spinoff. The spinoff follows a different, but familiar, group of bikers after the events of the series finale. Called Mayans MC, the project filmed a pilot last winter, but it was scrapped due to creative reasons. Now the spinoff is getting rejiggered and franchise creator Kurt Sutter has found his first series regular. Mayans MC has cast Michael Irby in a lead role.
Fans of Sons of Anarchy will be familiar with the Mayan MC's, one of the rival gangs that appeared throughout the seven-season run of the original FX drama. The gang will be the focus of the new spinoff, which is set after the events of the Sons of Anarchy series finale. However, the pilot is going through some retooling, with several key roles being recast while undergoing reshoots. Michael Irby is one of those new changes. According to TVLine, he'll be playing Obispo "Bishop" Losa, President of Mayans MC's Santo Padre Charter.
Coming from a broken home in the Salton Sea, Bishop was taken in by the family of his cousin Marcus Alvarez, Mayan MC founder and National President. After serving a tour of duty in Iraq and another in Pelican Bay, Bishop was sent by his cousin to set up and run a critical new charter of their gang on the Mexi-Cali border. Bishop is described as being as deadly as he is loyal, making him a force to be reckoned with. This makes him all too perfect a fit for the Mayans, who weren't exactly pushovers in the violence category.
Michael Irby is an experienced actor who has plenty of experience in both film and TV. His television credits include Taken, True Detective, Almost Human, Line of Fire and the recent SEAL Team on CBS. He has appeared in feature films such as Fast Five and Flightplan.
Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter co-created Mayans MC with Elgin James and the duo penned the pilot script. Norberto Barba was brought in to direct the new pilot. There isn't much word on what from the original pilot is getting kept or scrapped, but word on the street is that Edward James Olmos and JD Pardo (both of whom appeared in the original pilot) will still be in the retooled spinoff.
Mayans MC has no release date yet, but stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated with new information as soon as it's available. In the meantime, keep yourself distracted with our fall season TV premiere guide, which is filled with all the big TV shows hitting the airwaves for the new TV season.
