Mayans M.C. ran for five seasons and 50 episodes on FX, from September 4, 2018, to July 19, 2023. Kurt Sutter and Elgin James created it, and it is set in the same fictional universe as Sons of Anarchy, following the Mayans Motorcycle Club — the Sons’ rivals-turned-allies.
That is a strong premise. The execution is a different matter. Mayans M.C. holds a Metacritic score of 57 out of 100.
Trailer, via FX Networks.
Ezekiel Reyes Comes Home to Santo Padre
The show opens two-and-a-half years after the events of Sons of Anarchy, hundreds of miles away, in the fictional California border town of Santo Padre. J. D. Pardo plays Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes, fresh out of prison and a prospect in the Mayans M.C. charter on the Cali/Mexi border.
The setup is a familiar one, and the show knows it. EZ was the gifted son of a proud Mexican family, and the American dream was in his grasp before cartel violence took it. Now his need for vengeance drives him toward a life he never intended and can never escape.
That is the engine of the series. EZ is the golden boy who lost everything, and Pardo plays him with stillness. The show keeps reaching for the same note. Vengeance, then more vengeance.
The Reyes Family and the Club
The cast is the show’s best argument. Edward James Olmos plays Felipe Reyes, EZ’s father, and he is the anchor the series needs. Clayton Cardenas plays Angel Reyes, EZ’s brother, and the two have a believable, worn-down shorthand.
Michael Irby plays Obispo “Bishop” Losa. Emilio Rivera reprises his Sons of Anarchy role as Marcus Álvarez, the clearest bridge between the two shows. Danny Pino plays Miguel Galindo, and Carla Baratta plays Adelita. Sarah Bolger plays Emily Thomas.
Those three carry the cartel and political side of the story, and the show is often better when it stays with them.
Casting Changes Behind the Club
The casting history is worth knowing because it explains why the club’s lineup looks the way it does. In February 2017, Olmos, John Ortiz, Pardo and Antonio Jaramillo were cast in lead roles in the pilot. Richard Cabral, Bolger, Jacqueline Obradors and Andrea Londo were added in March 2017. Irby and Raoul Trujillo came aboard as series regulars in October 2017.
Rivera’s return as Álvarez was reported in November 2016. On April 25, 2017, Carla Baratta replaced Andrea Londo in the role of Adelita. Maurice Compte was cast in a potentially recurring role. Efrat Dor joined in May 2017 in a potentially recurring capacity. Pino and Vincent Vargas were cast in the pilot in October 2017, with Pino in a starring role. Gino Vento and Tony Plana landed recurring roles in April 2018.
On July 22, 2018, Sutter told Deadline Hollywood that Ortiz had been replaced by Michael Irby. That is a real swap, made late.
Two Shows, One Universe
The comparison to Sons of Anarchy is unavoidable, and it is the fairest way to measure what Mayans M.C. does well and where it stalls.
| Sons of Anarchy | Mayans M.C. | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | — | Santo Padre, California border town |
| Timeline | Before the events of Mayans M.C. | Two-and-a-half years after Sons of Anarchy |
| Central figure | Jax Teller (deceased) | Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes |
| Club | Sons of Anarchy | Mayans M.C. |
| Relationship | Rivals-turned-allies | Rivals-turned-allies |
| Run on FX | — | 5 seasons, 50 episodes, 2018–2023 |
The table makes the show’s central bet clear. Mayans M.C. takes the Sons template — a club, a family, a border, a debt — and moves it south. What it does not do is find a reason to exist beyond that template for most of its run.
The Fourth and Fifth Seasons
The fourth season premiered on April 19, 2022. In July 2022, FX renewed the series for a fifth and final season. That season premiered on May 24, 2023, and the series finale aired on July 19, 2023.
Ending on the show’s own terms was the right call. But a show that needs five seasons to find its footing has spent four of them searching. The middle seasons are the weakest stretch, and the club’s internal politics do not build the way the premise suggests they should. That is a judgment call, not a fact the source hands over.
Mayans M.C. takes place two-and-a-half years after the events of Sons of Anarchy and is set hundreds of miles away in the fictional California border town of Santo Padre.
That line, from the show’s own premise, is the whole thesis. Distance is the point. The show wants to be about what the border does to a family, not just about a motorcycle club.
What the Border Story Actually Delivers
The border setting is the show’s strongest and least-used asset. Santo Padre is fictional, but the show treats the Cali/Mexi line as a fact of life rather than a backdrop, and the best stretches are the ones that stay local.
EZ’s arc is where that pays off. He is a prospect, which means he spends the early going being told what to do, and the show uses that position well. He is not a leader yet. He is a man with a record and a family name and no clear way back to the life he almost had.
The cartel violence that ended his American dream is the show’s real subject. When Mayans M.C. keeps its eye on that, it works. When it drifts into club business for its own sake, it does not.
What Mayans M.C. Leaves Behind
Mayans M.C. is a show with a good cast, a strong setting and a premise that should have carried five seasons. It does not, quite. The Reyes family scenes are the ones that stay with you, and the club scenes are the ones that blur together. That is the trade the show makes, and it makes it too often.
Pardo is good. Olmos is better.
The Metacritic score is 57 out of 100, and that lands about right. Mayans M.C. is not a failure. It is a show that never became the thing its premise promised — a border story with a family at the center, rather than a club story with a border behind it.
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