FX revved up a lot of viewers' motors in 2018 with the second TV series within the Sons of Anarchy franchise, the location-swapping spinoff Mayans M.C. The new drama delivered a lot of expectedly hardcore narrative threads, and offered up a surprising number of crossover ties to the flagship series. But whatever happened to Kurt Sutter's prequel idea, The First 9?
During this year's TCA winter press tour, I had a quick chat with FX Networks president John Landgraf, and there's no way the SAMCRO fanatic inside me could refrain from asking if it was feasible for the Sons of Anarchy prequel to happen while the Mayans spinoff was still airing. Here was his answer:
Kurt does still talk about doing The First 9. He hasn't given me a date or timing, but it still seems to be something he wants to do.
First thing's first: Kurt Sutter still hasn't fully put The First 9 pitch out to pasture, and is apparently still bringing it up with enough semi-regularity that John Landgraf still sees it as a viable option for the future. Of course, that future is no more secured or certain than anyone's future was on Sons of Anarchy.
In any case, not only is John Landgraf of the belief that Kurt Sutter still wants to bring the Sons of Anarchy prequel into existence at some point, but the FX head honcho sounds like just the kind of person who would order it to series if it maintained the quality of Sons and Mayans. He doesn't confirm that both would get to air at the same time, but it's the more delightful mindset.
In my completely untrained opinion, developing and ordering The First 9 would be a truly brilliant move for both Kurt Sutter and John Landgraf. Mayans M.C. isn't yet pulling off the kinds of big numbers that Sons of Anarchy did in its prime, but the spinoff is standing out when it comes to DVR numbers. So it's clear there is an audience out there ready to embrace all the motorcycle mayhem FX can afford to throw out there.
There was a point when Kurt Sutter himself had talked about possibly not moving forward with The First 9 after he spent some time reflecting on the violence portrayed .in his shows. Obviously, Mayans M.C. is extremely violent in its own right, even if it does sometimes feel like they're intentionally holding back. As such, it's unclear if that aspect would still have any effect on what he'd want to do with the prequel.
For those who might need a refresher, The First 9 would be about the initial nine members of SAMCRO, which includes Jax Teller's dad John. As well as Opie's pop Piney. (R.I.P. Opie.) The show would take place at a point after J.T. returned home from Vietnam, in the years before Jax was born, and would see SAMCRO's foundation being built upon J.T.'s less criminalistic ideals.
Even if The First 9 just happened as a one-off season that went down between seasons of Mayans M.C., that would be cool. Really, though, FX and Kurt Sutter, do more than just a one-off season.
Don't expect to find Sons of Anarchy or Mayans M.C. on Netflix anytime soon, but you can stream the newest series on FX's own streaming service, FX+. While waiting to hear about Season 2, as well as more about The First 9, put those side-view mirrors on our midseason premiere schedule to make sure you don't miss all the biggest dramas that are on the way.
