cover story
Heavy metal thunder
‘Mayans M.C.’ rides again in Season 2
By Kyla Brewer
TV Media
O
utlaw motorcycle clubs have
been cruising around Amer-
ica since the end of the World
War II, but the secretive groups
are often shrouded in mystery.
One drama offers TV viewers a
fictional look at the complex and
dangerous world of biker culture,
and it’s ready to roll into Season 2.
J.D. Pardo (“Revolution”) re-
turns as motorcycle club prospect
Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes in the season
premiere of “Mayans M.C.,” air-
ing Tuesday, Sept. 3, on FX. Set in
the same universe of the previous
FX series “Sons of Anarchy,” the
show follows a motorcycle club
on the U.S.-Mexico border in the
California town of Santo Padre.
The 10-episode second season
is sure to offer plenty of twists
and turns as EZ continues his
quest for vengeance. The son of a
proud Mexican family, EZ showed
potential until his dreams were
eventually quashed by cartel
violence. The show’s violent se-
quences have been the subject of
much scrutiny, especially during
the TCA summer press tour in Au-
gust, which came on the heels of
deadly mass shootings in the U.S.
Kurt Sutter (“Sons of Anar-
chy”), who co-created “Mayans
M.C.” along with Elgin James
(“Little Birds,” 2011), talked
about the show’s use of violence
in the wake of the shootings dur-
ing the TCA panel for the show.
“This is a world that has the
language of violence,” Sutter was
quoted by deadline.com. “The
truth of violence is that it’s never
gratuitous. It’s not pretty, not sexy
and it always has consequences.”
Season 2 continues to inter-
weave EZ’s story with those of his
brother, father and other Mayans
associates. It’s been eight months
since the events of the inaugural
season’s finale, but many of the
characters are still at odds. The of-
ficial FX trailer for Season 2 shows
EZ approaching his estranged
brother, Angel (Clayton Cardenas,
“American Crime”), with the
2 | Screentime
news that he knows who killed
their mother. The same trailer
shows EZ and Angel’s father, Fe-
lipe Reyes (Edward James Olmos,
“Battlestar Galactica”), talking to
another character about how his
boys have no connection to his
past, saying, “I buried it for a rea-
son,” before the footage flashes
to a picture of EZ and Angel’s
mother, Marisol. In last season’s
finale, it was revealed that Happy
Lowman (David Labrava) — a
crossover character from “Sons
of Anarchy” — was the man
responsible for the death of the
Reyes family matriarch.
Meanwhile, cartel leader
Miguel Galindo (Danny Pino,
“Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit”) faces troubles of his own.
He’s married to EZ’s childhood
sweetheart, Emily Thomas (Sarah
Bolger, “The Tudors”). Despite his
seemingly successful marriage,
vast wealth and outward facade
as a legitimate businessman, the
ruthless, cold-hearted Galindo
struggles to make it all work, both
with the family business and in
his relationship with Emily.
As for the remaining members
of the Mayans M.C., they have
their own problems. In the Season
2 opener, it appears that the club
has uncovered an internal leak
and must figure out how to deal
with it. The trailer shows Mayans
M.C.’s Santo Padre Charter
president Obsipo “Bishop” Losa
(Michael Irby, “The Unit”) calling
a meeting and telling the other
members that they’ve “hit an
ugly bump,” adding, “We gotta
do something, or we’ll lose every-
thing.”
Season 2 also features the
return of several characters from
the show’s first outing. Raoul
Max Trujillo (“Apocalypto,”
2006) stars as Bishop’s second in
command, Che “Taza” Romero,
vice-president of the Santo Pa-
dre chapter. Antonio Jaramillo
“(Shades of Blue”) portrays the
Mayans M.C., Santo Padre’s
Charter El Secretario Michael
“Riz” Ariza. Richard Cabral (“Into
the Dark: Culture Shock”) plays
August 28, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
Raoul Max Trujillo as seen in “Mayans M.C.”
former marine and full-patch
member of the Mayans M.C.
Johnny “El Coco” Cruz. Emillio Ri-
vera (“Z Nation”) returns as Mar-
cus Alvarez, Bishop’s cousin and
national president of the Mayans
M.C. Carla Baratta (“Bleep”) will
once again be seen as Adelita, a
woman who watched her family
die at the hands of the Galindo
cartel when she was just a child.
What happens next for the
Mayans and other residents of
Santo Padre is anyone’s guess,
but fans of the show will likely be
on the edges of their seats for this
season’s thrill ride. Unlike many
TV spinoffs, “Mayans M.C.” is
showing it has the mettle to keep
audiences enthralled, with or
without its connection to “Sons
of Anarchy.” TV spinoffs often
bank on the popularity of their
originating series in an attempt
to recapture the show’s audience.
Yet, “Mayans M.C.” has man-
aged to strike out on its own and
draw viewers into a world with
very little direct connection to
“Sons of Anarchy.”
Last season, “Mayans M.C.”
was one of the highest-rated new
cable series on television. Each
of the Season 1 episodes drew
more than a million live viewers,
and that number jumped to an
average of well over three million
viewers when DVR viewers were
included. While plenty of spinoffs
fizzle out before the first season
even runs its course, “Mayans
M.C.” was renewed for a second
season within a month of its
debut. The show’s been critically
acclaimed, and Cabral was nomi-
nated for a 2019 Critics’ Choice
Television Award in the Best Sup-
porting Actor in a Drama Series
category for his role as Cruz.
The acclaim is expected to
continue in Season 2 as the Reyes
family and the Mayans face even
more troubled times. Watch the
drama unfold in the season pre-
miere of “Mayans M.C.,” airing
Tuesday, Sept. 3, on FX.