‘Sons of Anarchy’ season 6: Kurt Sutter on the current state of possible prequel

For longtime fans of “Sons of Anarchy,” hearing that there may be a spin-off / prequel at some point down the road is hardly news; creator Kurt Sutter has expressed that a few times in various Twitter Q&As and assorted videos, though while also saying that there would probably be some sort of break between the end of the flagship series and the new one.

So the major progress report to share now is basically that there are conversations that have happened with FX about the idea, though it’s still far from being anything confirmed. The idea is still an origin story about SAMCRO in the beginning, in what the world was like for a motorcycle club following the Vietnam War, a time when there was so much of a counterculture movement and government unrest. During his Q&A with fans at the Sons for Sandy charity even this past weekend, Sutter reportedly (per People Magazine) told fans the following:

“I’ve had discussions with the network about it, and I think they are open to it. I think there is something really interesting about the origins of the club. And to do a period piece set in the ’60s, post-Vietnam could be kind of cool. I don’t think we would dovetail and start right after the series ended, but it’s something I’m potentially excited about it.” 

From a network standpoint, we don’t ever seen this becoming an issue so long as Sutter has a good idea. This is the highest-rated show consistently on FX in live viewing week in and week out, with the premiere of “American Horror Story: Coven” being the only real comparable this year.  What we would be more concerned about is whether or not the story would be stellar, mostly since prequels have that nasty habit of getting us tremendously excited, and then disappointed a mere matter of minutes after they premiere.

The reasons why we feel like this show could break some of those prequel stigmas are that there has already been some sort of a road map established already for what the world was like back then, and also that this is not some idea that Sutter has just thought about to make extra money. It’s also not just a spin-off designed to make money off of bikers in a completely different part of the country.

There is no real hurry to announce anything concerning a spin-off series, either. What we would personally want to see is some sort of announcement come during the final season if it is getting made, that way you could at least know that even if it was a couple of years down the road, something else was coming and you were not watching the end of the Charming universe. There is something to be said for establishing mental closure for a show before its end.

In slowing things down a little bit, click here if you want to just take a look ahead to next week’s “Sons of Anarchy” episode. We’ll be back with more soon.

Photo: FX