Kurt Sutter Heads Back to L.A. for a Gritty Noir Crime Drama at MGM+
MGM+ is digging into classic crime storytelling with a new hour-long period series in development from Kurt Sutter, the creative force behind Sons of Anarchy. The project shifts Sutter into noir territory for the first time and brings him back to the kind of Los Angeles crime world where his TV career first took shape.
Set in 1950s Los Angeles, the series follows a private investigator navigating a city soaked in crime, corruption, and compromised cops, all unfolding against the seductive glow of Hollywood. It’s a version of L.A. where glamour and rot live side by side, and the cases are never as clean as they look on the surface.
Sutter is writing the series, executive producing through his SutterInk banner, and serving as showrunner. Sutter began his rise in television as a staff writer on FX’s The Shield, eventually becoming an executive producer on the Shawn Ryan-created drama before launching Sons of Anarchy for the network. That series went on to become a defining crime saga, followed by the spinoff Mayans M.C., which Sutter co-created.
At MGM+, the untitled noir drama is being developed alongside other crime-driven projects including the 1980s-set The Westies from Chris Brancato, and the thriller anthology American Hostage, a working title from Shawn Ryan and Eileen Myers. The lineup points to a clear push by the streamer into darker, character-focused storytelling rooted in specific eras.
Sutter also created Netflix’s period Western The Abandons. Although he exited the series shortly before production wrapped, the show debuted last week and pulled in 7.3 million views during its opening weekend, signaling strong interest in his brand of rough-edged drama.
Beyond MGM+, Sutter has another major project brewing at Apple TV+ titled Nomad. The series is set within the violent underworld of New Zealand’s outlaw biker culture and has Jason Momoa attached to star. Sutter is co-writing the show with Chris Collins, who will also serve as showrunner.
With this MGM+ noir series, Sutter is circling back to Los Angeles, crime, and morally messy characters, but through a fresh lens shaped by shadowy alleys, crooked badges, and classic Hollywood smoke and mirrors.
For fans of hardboiled drama, this is a project worth keeping an eye out for.