TV Series:  Mayans M.C.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Creators: Elgin James, Kurt Sutter, 

Showrunner: Elgin James

CAST: JD Pardo, Clayton Cardenas, Sarah Bolger, Michael Irby, Carla Baretta, Raul Max Trujillo. Edward James Olmos

REVIEW

Get ready for the return of cool tunes, cooler bikes, and the coolest group of motorcycle dudes on TV, because FX has renewed Mayans M.C. for a 5th season.

Watching the Mayans M.C. roar down the highway on their Harleys sounding like approaching heavy metal thunder while gripping those butterfly handlebars, they look like a flock of bad-intentioned raptors searching for some prey to pounce on.

During the Dark Ages feudal lords had small armies of knights who protected the feudal lord from his rivals, helped collect taxes and tributes and controlled the peasants who lived on the lord’s land. Mayans M.C.is a modern hipper retelling of that medieval European reality. But now rather than European knights in shining armor on mighty steeds, we have leather-clad, tattooed Latinos on powerful chrome and steel “hogs”.

For four seasons, the Mayans M.C. have dealt with the usual drug cartel mayhem: battles with rival gangs over territory and distribution routes, protection and distribution of the Galindo heroin and cocaine, revenge killings, kidnapping, extortion and assassination, family secrets, and the audience can’t get enough of this.

Season 4 ended with EZ Reyes (JD Pardo) taking the reins of the club as the President of the Mayans after Marcus (Emilio Rivera) is ousted. All of this is cause for Angel’s (Clayton Cardenas) concern for his brother. Meanwhile, Galindo (Danny Pino) is revealed as “familia’ to the Reyes’ by the patriarch Felipe (Edward James Olmos).

Despite the fact that the Mayans are a motorcycle gang of arch criminals, you find yourself rooting for these “bad boys” because they do everything with kickass Latino gusto style and flair to a great soundtrack.  Bring on Season 5!

Producers: Elgin James, Kurt Sutter, Sean Trotta

Production Company: FX Productions

Distributor: FX Network

Available: FX, Hulu

Rating:

TV Series  Now and  Then

Genre: Crime, Drama. Mystery

Creators:  Ramón Campos, Gema R. Neira, Teresa Fernández+Valdés

Showrunners:  Ramón Campos, Teresa Fernández-V aldés

CAST: Mateo Guerrero, Naruba de Tavira, Maribel Verdú, Jose María Yazpik, Manolo Cardona, Soledad Villamil, Zeljko Ivanek, Rosie Perez

REVIEW

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive” —William Shakespeare. 

It’s an accepted historical fact that Richard Nixon didn’t have to resign his presidency because of the break-in at the Watergate hotel. He had to resign because of his subsequent cover-up and lies surrounding the third-rate burglary of the Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel by his “Plumbers.”

Now and Then is the multi-level story of five well-to-do individuals in Miami who have been covering up the mysterious death of one of their friends twenty years prior at a college graduation beach party. During the ensuing twenty years, these five people have formed a secretive cover-up bond that holds them together like connective tissue. The threads of their tangled web now weave through each other’s lives and affect them personally, politically, financially and emotionally.

Making matters more complicated now is Detective Sergeant Flora Neruda (Rosie Perez) who back twenty years ago was just a rookie cop on the initial investigation. But now she is back investigating the case and driven by a personal agenda  not to let “those rich kids get away with it again.”

Now and Then features a brilliant cast of actors from various Spanish-speaking countries. As a result, you will hear the distinctive accents from Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Argentina and Brooklyn. The creators and writers of this eight-part mini-TV series envision it will have global appeal. Now and then has all the ingredients for global appeal; an international cast, an intriguing mystery, complicated characters, and a plucky little latter-day Inspector Hercule Poirot-like detective sergeant in Perez bound and determined to figure out whodunit. 

Producers: Andres Barahona, Victor Fandiño, Luís Malet

Production Company: AppleTV+

Distributor: AppleTV+ 

Available:  AppleTV+

Rating:

The post Thumbnail Reviews: ‘Mayans M.C.’ Returns for Season 5; ‘Now & Then”, It’s Complicated first appeared on .

FX premiered the fourth season of Mayans. M.C., the ten-episode limited season on April 19th and it is off to a rollicking start that has fans chewing it up. Currently airing on FX and streaming on Hulu.  

This edgy series co-created by Elgin James follows the life of two brothers Ezekiel ‘EZ’ Reyes (JD Pardo), and his brother Angel (Clayton Cadenas) both members of the all-Latino Mayans M.C. charter on the Cali/Mexi border. “You might say, this season opens with a bang,” says James. “EZ and his brother Angel, with the rest of the Santo Padre M.C., are facing retaliation from other chapters of Mayans after a failed attempt to align under one King.” 

This season, EZ is taking on a bigger leadership role in the Mayans, he explains, “When it comes to EZ, in these dark places, there’s an awakening that happens.  It’s like you almost have to go through the fire and experience the lowest of the lows to understand who you are and to test it.” Adding, “I think that’s where you find these characters, and that’s where they’re really going to break out.”

“For Angel, I think there’s always been the sort of tear in his character. Which blood was thicker to him?  Was it the actual, literal blood of his brother or was it the blood of the club?” questions Cardenas about his character’s thought process, explaining how he got there. “I think towards the end of the early seasons we started to see the shift in him as he saw his brother fully immersing himself into the life of the club.  So, this season we see which way Angel will lean into.”

The family bond between EZ and Pardo is also tested by their relationship with their father, Felipe, played by Edward James Olmos. The two brothers have grown distant from Felipe, after what is perceived as a heart-wrenching betrayal, which needs to be resolved. The family dynamic becomes more complicated in the final season, involving lives more than just the family.    

This season Mayans bring up Frankie Loyal, Vincent Vargas, and  Joseph Lucero as series regulars while the four-season solid regulars Danny Pino, Carla Baratta, Michael Irby, Raoul Max Trujillo, Richard Cabral, Emilio Rivera, and Sarah Bolger continue to be the factors that fuel the Mayans.  

“Most importantly, 95 percent of our cast is Latinx, and I think it’s the most important part of the show,” says Bolger. “ It represents people that I think don’t get as much screen time as they deserve.  I’m an Irish girl. I feel so lucky to get to play Emily Galindo and be part of this world and I have learned so much in the process.”

Olmos adds, “This season is arguably the best season I’ve ever read, and if it keeps going like this, it will be around a long time.  And the first three seasons don’t quite prepare you for the fourth. So take it from there, okay.  Because you’re in for one hell of a ride, man.” 

Mayans M.C, is executive produced by James, Sutter and Hilton Smith. The fourth season is produced by 20^th Television and FX Productions.

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The film Ya No Estoy Aquí, series Love Victor and Pose and actors Demian Bichir, JD Pardo, Aubrey Plaza and MJ Rodriguez are among the winners of the 2021 Imagen Awards.

The awards recognize Latino talent and executives in television and film that contribute to the accurate portrayal of Latino in Hollywood. 

Mexican director Fernando Frias’s Ya No Estoy Aquí (I’m No Longer Here) won the award for Best Feature Film. It tells the story of the young leader of a street party gang forced to immigrate to the U.S. after a mixup with a local cartel, but who quickly longs to return home. The film also won two additional Imagen Awards, one for Frias for Best Director and another for Joe Rodríguez and Javier Nuño for Best Music Supervision for Film or Television.

The three prizes for Ya No Estoy Aquí  add to the accolades the film has collected since its release last year. Ya No Estoy Aquí swept at the 2020 Ariel Awards, Mexico’s equivalent of the Oscars, winning in 10 categories, including top prizes–Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Also, it was shortlisted for the 2021 Oscars in the Best International Feature as Mexico’s official entry.

Bichir won Best Actor Feature Film for his role of Miguel in Land, a drama about a bereaved woman seeking out a new life off the grid in Wyoming. 

The award to Best Actress Feature Film went to Plaza for her lead in Black Bear. She plays a filmmaker at a creative impasse seeking solace from her tumultuous past at a rural retreat, only to find that the woods summon her inner demons in intense and surprising ways.

MJ Rodriguez took home the prize to Best Actress Television Drama for her role as Blanca Evangelista in the FX series Pose. That same role earned her a nod for a Primetime Emmy Award, making history as the first transgender woman to be nominated in a major acting category of the coveted prize. Pose also won Best Primetime Program Drama.

Another major winner was Hulu’s Love Victor, which also scored twice, for Best Comedy Primetime Program and Best Actor Michael Cimino.

The 36th Annual Imagen Awards winners were determined by an independent panel of entertainment industry executives and Latina and Latino community leaders. The award ceremony was live-streamed on PBSSoCal.org and KCET.org.

The Imagen Foundation’s Norman Lear Writer’s Award went to television writer Tanya Saracho, the creator, showrunner and executive producer of the Starz series Vida. Her producer credits also include the popular series How to Get Away with Murder, starring Viola Davis, and HBO’s Looking.

Below is the complete list of winners:

FILM

Best Feature Film: Ya No Estoy Aquí / I’m No Longer Here (Netflix; Panorama Global for Netflix)

Best Director – Feature Film: Fernando Frías De La Parra, Ya No Estoy Aquí / I’m No Longer Here (Netflix; Panorama Global for Netflix)

Best Actor – Feature Film: Demián Bichir, Land (Focus Features / a Big Beach Production / Flashlight Films)

Best Actress – Feature Film: Aubrey Plaza, Black Bear (Momentum Pictures, an Entertainment One Company; Tandem Pictures, Oakhurst Entertainment & Blue Creek Pictures, in association with Productivity Media and Radiant Films International)

TELEVISION

Best Primetime Program – Drama: Pose (FX; 20th Television)

Best Primetime Program – Comedy: Love, Victor (Hulu; Hulu, 20th Television, Temple Hill)

Best Primetime Program – Special or Movie: One Day at a Time – Animated Special (PopTV; Sony Pictures Television, Act III, Snowpants Productions, GloNation)

Best Director – Television: Tanya Saracho, Vida (STARZ; Big Beach and Chingona Productions in association with Starz Originals)

Best Actor – Television (Drama): JD Pardo, Mayans M.C. (FX Networks; 20th Television and FX Productions)

Best Actress – Television (Drama): Mj Rodriguez, Pose (FX; 20th Television)

Best Actor – Television (Comedy): Michael Cimino, Love, Victor (Hulu; Hulu, 20th Television, Temple Hill)

Best Actress – Television (Comedy): Barbie Ferreira, Unpregnant (HBO Max; HBO Max presents a WarnerMax / PictureStart / Berlanti / Schechter Films production)

Best Supporting Actor – Television (Drama): Colman Domingo, Euphoria Special: Part 1 Rue: “Trouble Don’t Last Always” (HBO; HBO in association with Reasonable Bunch, A24, Little Lamb, Dreamcrew, ADD Content Agency | HOT | Tedy Productions)

Best Supporting Actress – Television (Drama): Morena Baccarin, The Twilight Zone (Paramount+; CBS Studios in association with Monkeypaw Productions and Genre Films)

Best Supporting Actor – Television (Comedy): Harvey Guillén, What We Do In The Shadows (FX; FX Productions)

Best Supporting Actress – Television (Comedy): Diana Maria Riva, Dead to Me (Netflix; CBS Television Studios for Netflix)

Best Young Actor – Television: Madison Reyes, Julie and the Phantoms (Netflix)

Best Voice-Over Actor – Television: Justina Machado, One Day at a Time – Animated Special (PopTV; Sony Pictures Television, Act III, Snowpants Productions, GloNation)

Best Variety or Reality Show: Tie
A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt at The Soraya (PBS; KCET and The Soraya)
Shine True (Fuse; Vice Studios, OUTtv Canada, Fuse Media)

Best Young Adult Programming: Julie and the Phantoms (Netflix)

Best Youth Programming: The Casagrandes (Nickelodeon)

Best Music Composition for Film or Television: Cristobal Tapia de Veer, The Third Day (HBO; HBO in association with Sky Studios, Plan B, and Punchdrunk)

Best Music Supervision for Film or Television: Joe Rodríguez & Javier Nuño, Ya No Estoy Aquí / I’m No Longer Here (Netflix; Panorama Global for Netflix)

Best Documentary: Tie
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix; A Netflix Original Documentary / A Muck Media Production in Association with Key Rat, Inc. & Topic Studios)
POV: The Infiltrators (PBS; American Documentary | POV, Pueblo Sight & Sound, Chicago Media Project, Naked Edge Film, 3DMC, Baked Studios, The National Day Laborer Organizing Network)

Best Informational Program: Street Food: Latin America (Netflix; Boardwalk Pictures for Netflix)

Best Short Film: UNLADYLIKE2020: Jovita Idar (PBS American Masters; Unladylike Productions LLC in association with The WNET Group’s American Masters.)

Best Commercial Advertisement or Social Awareness Campaign: Latinos Are Essential (Latino Public Broadcasting; PBS)

The post Imagen Award Victors: ‘Ya No Estoy Aquí,’ ‘Love Victor,’ Demian Bichir, JD Pardo, Aubrey Plaza and MJ Rodriguez first appeared on .

Mayans M.C. is one of few dramas currently on American TV featuring a mainly Latino cast that includes Clayton Cardenas, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Raoul Max Trujillo, Richard Cabral and Danny Pino. Emilio Rivera, Sarah Bolger and Sulem Calderon also star in the series.

A spin-off of the Golden Globe-winning Sons of Anarchy, the Latino series was created and is executive produced by Elgin James and Kurt Sutter. It follows Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes (Pardo), a newly patched member of the Mayans M.C. charter on the California/Mexico border. Once the golden boy with the American Dream in his grasp, EZ and his brother Angel (Cardenas) are closer than ever after uncovering the truth behind their mother’s murder while their father Felipe (Olmos) struggles to reconcile the choices he and his sons have made.

The renewal announcement is good news for the show, arriving just days before the end of its third season. Produced by 20th Television and FX Productions, the current season wraps up May 11.

“Elgin James, his creative collaborators, this incredible cast and crew delivered on another epic season of Mayans M.C.,” says Nick Grad, FX president of original programming. “Through three seasons, Mayans has told stories that resonate well beyond the border where the club thrives and survives, inviting fans inside their world and giving them a seat at the table.”

The show’s creator promises to dig deeper into the Mayans‘ characters in the season set to premiere in 2022. “I am deeply indebted to everyone at FX and 20th for allowing us to continue to tell the stories of the characters that Kurt (Sutter) and I created and whom our cast and crew took to new heights in season three,” says James, the executive producer. “In season four we look forward to diving deeper into each character’s truths, exploring the danger of the combustible world they inhabit, and for each writer, cast member and crew to stake out our place as storytellers.”

Among the show’s writers stands out Bryan Gracia (Chicago P.D.) and Debra Moore Muñoz (Westworld).

Mayans M.C. has received nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Award, California on Location Awards, Golden Trailer Awards and Imagen Foundation Awards.

Featured Photo: ‘Mayans M.C.’ (Credit: FX)

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Season two left off with a newly patched Mayans M.C. member Ezekiel “EZ Reyes played by JD Pardo, his brother Angel (Clayton Cardenas) who disapproved of EZ joining. However, the brothers got closer, and they worked together to uncover the truth behind their mother’s murder, while their dad Felipe played by Edward James Olmos struggles to reconcile the choices he and his sons have made.

Also, there are the twist and turns of the stories we follow from the rest of the cast, including Richard Cabral, Danny Pino, and newcomer Emilia Tosta.

Also returning to the gritty motorcycle drama are Michael Irby, Raoul Max Trujillo, Emilio Rivera, Sarah Bolger, and Sulem Calderon.

At the end of season two, we had U.S. Assistant District Attorney Lincoln Potter (Ray McKinnon), who threatened to deport Felipe, prompting EZ and Angel to step in; rebel leader Adelita (Carla Baratta gave birth to Angel’s son while federal custody. Meanwhile, Miguel Galindo (Pino) was left reeling after his mother’s apparent suicide, while others quietly suspect foul play. Additionally, the Mayans seek vengeance on their rivals, the Tijuana M.C. Vatos Malditos, after a surprise attack on their club. When the smoke clears, they discover the body of a Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original.

Mayans M.C. was co-created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James and is executive produced by James, Michael Dinner and Sutter. The third season is produced by 20^th Television and FX Productions.

— Latin Heat News Service

Featured Photo & Video: FX

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