‘Sons of Anarchy’ may have exited our screens, but not our minds yet. The show was cancelled long ago, but we couldn’t exactly wrap our heads around the reason. Why exactly did Kurt Sutter drop ‘Sons of Anarchy’?
Action, crime, drama: mix all of this and you get a kickass series that ruled the hearts and charts for a very long time. We are talking about Kurt Sutter’s ‘Sons of Anarchy’ which started in 2008 and ran its course till 2014. The magic brew again when Netflix bought the show. However, that too was taken down in the year 2018, thus taking away that one respite from fans. ‘Sons of Anarchy’ being cancelled for the second time was surely a blow to the fans. Of course, there are other means of accessing the show, but to have an official channel where it could be watched with utmost convenience was the best experience.
Highlights —
- ‘Sons of Anarchy’ cancelled, taking down the fans’ expectations with it
- Nevertheless, Netflix retained the legacy to be relived again
- But soon, even that was taken down?
- What was the real reason?
Why was ‘Sons of Anarchy’ cancelled? What exactly led to Netflix taking down the legacy of Jax Teller? Let us spill the beans for you, straight from the archives. The story may be old, but the wounds of missing your favourite show aren’t, and ‘Sons of Anarchy’ surely is one of the favourites for so many of its fans.
‘Sons of Anarchy’ cancelled and Kurt Sutter is not holding back
The answer to why ‘Sons of Anarchy’ was cancelled lies in the old tweets of the creator and the reason is connected to Disney and Fox’s deal, along with Disney launching its own OTT platform Disney+. Yes, this was in talks for a long time. With Netflix reigning the rooster of OTT space, Disney sauntering in with its own content was a major blow. ‘Sons of Anarchy’s’ cancellation on Netflix was because of this reason, as clearly explained by Kurt in his tweets.
Quite neat. This is precisely the reason even ‘Mayans M.C.’ is not on Netflix.
Planned or panned?
While cancelling the airing of the show happened much later, the disappointment of the fans stems from the fact that it was wrapped up and not renewed. But, was it due to some issues or was it as originally planned? Well, the fans are in for a disappointment.
It was originally conceptualised as a seven-season series. However, the later seasons did not receive as much appreciation as the earlier ones. Thus, the cancelling of the series was not so much because it was panned, but because it was planned, or perhaps, both.
What is next for ‘Sons of Anarchy’?
‘Sons of Anarchy’ has ended for good and is not coming back. However, there is ‘Mayans M.C.’, another series that is set in the same universe and is a spin-off. It is a good way for the fans of the original series to relive the world as it charts out the story of the Mayan’s Motorcycle Club, Sons’ rivals who later on turned their allies. The show is running well for now and is already ready and renewed for its third season which will be aired sometime soon. The pandemic led to delays here as well.
In the midst of all of this, there was another show conceptualised by Sutter, which did not fare well and hence had to be cancelled. We are talking about ‘The Bastard Executioner’. The show, which started off as a promising one, did not receive a good verdict from the audience by the end of it. In fact, if Kurt Sutter is to be believed, the audience’s verdict was a clear and defined “Meh”.
Obviously, taking forward the legacy with that feedback in mind is not something any creator would like to do. The viewership fell to a dismal 1.9 million for the sixth episode of the season. Not only that, the critics panned it as well, with TIME stating clearly that though the plotline has potential, it lacked “star wattage”.
All in all, ‘Sons of Anarchy’ is cut and cancelled for good, with the remnants of the legacy being run in the form of ‘Mayans M.C.’. For the fans, that’s enough. If not, we can always have reruns of the original series.
