newjerseynewsroom.com

BY LINDA MOSS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

New Jersey native Kurt Sutter, a writer and executive producer for FX's "Sons of Anarchy" and "The Shield," takes creative risks. He refuses to churn out clones of TV series that have already been done — and succeeded — before.

Sutter recalled once reading 10 pilots for broadcast-network TV shows that were based on just two concepts. They were variations of either ABC's "Alias" or Fox's "24."

"Creatively, to me it's just death," said Sutter, who is creator, writer and executive producer of "Sons of Anarchy."

Sutter, who grew up in Clark, may not turn out cookie-cutter programming. But he's like other "showrunners," the industry term for a writer/producer in charge of a TV program, in some respects. He pays attention to the ratings, reviews and awards for his shows.

Sutter has found a happy home on FX, a cable network known for its cutting-edge and sometimes disturbing programming. Sutter's "Sons of Anarchy," for example, is about a violent California motorcycle club that does illegal gunrunning.

Sutter started off as a staff writer for "The Shield" in 2001 and spent the show's last two seasons as executive producer. "The Shield," a show about rogue cops in Los Angeles, ended last year, running seven seasons.

"The Shield" was critically acclaimed, and shocked viewers when in its first episode corrupt Detective Vic Mackey, played by Michael Chiklis, murdered another cop who he feared was an informant.

That first season of "The Shield" Chiklis won an Emmy as best actor in a drama. But after that, there were few other awards or official recognition in Hollywood for FX's anti-hero cop drama.

"The initial show was so ground-breaking that it couldn't be ignored," Sutter said. "But once that acknowledgment happened we were just out in the dust with no acknowledgment by awards."

"The Shield" didn't get any awards from the Writers Guild of American, the Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Globes or any more Emmys after Chiklis's win, according to Sutter.

"So we sort of got used to it," he said.

This year Sutter said he watched "Two And a Half Men's" Jon Cryer's Emmy acceptance speech on You Tube, and loved it.

"When you're not nominated and when you don't win, it's very easy to sit back and say that they're (the Emmys) shallow and meaningless," Sutter said, paraphrasing Cryer's speech. "And yet when you do win, suddenly, they are the most important things. I'm sure I'm subject to that flip-flopping bias."

The Emmy vote can't help but turn out to be "some sort of popularity contest," often based on a show's viewership "unless you manage to create the buzz anomaly, which I always thought was the case with ‘The Sopranos' and in this case, with ‘Mad Men,'" Sutter said.

AMC's "Mad Men," a TV critics' darling with a growing but relatively small audience, has managed to win several Emmys because it has become a national phenomenon, according to Sutter. "Mad Men," about a 1960's ad agency, has been on national magazine covers, and has even influenced fashion.

"I'm willing to bet that at least half the people that voted for (an Emmy for) ‘Mad Men' had probably never seen a bloody episode," said Sutter, who is a big fan of the AMC drama. "But with the buzz factor they know it's a great show."

TV critics have given good reviews to the second season of "Sons of Anarchy," which is airing on FX now. And viewers, who vote with their remotes, have brought ratings success to "Sons of Anarchy" this season. That means a lot to Sutter.

"I want to feel like I'm doing something that appeals to a broad audience and that people are turning out for," he said. "For me, it's like being an actor and working to a half house or a full house. It's just much more rewarding when you're working to a full house. As far as that goes, ratings are important."

"Sons of Anarchy" has been averaging 3.82 million viewers, a 73 percent increase from last season, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Jay Leno's move from late night to primetime at 10 p.m. on NBC has TV writers such as Sutter worried that it will result in less scripted dramas and therefore, less work for them.

But on the flip side, the Leno move has also boosted viewership for "Sons of Anarchy," which competes with it head to head at 10 p.m. Tuesdays.

"Sure, it helped us, and we actually beat Leno last week in the key demos," Sutter said. "For us, it's less competition (from other dramas)."

In the first three weeks since Leno debuted weeknights at 10 p.m., "Sons of Anarchy" has beat the former late-night host in the men 18-to-34 demographic. The FX show is averaging 821,000 men in that age group, 13 percent more than Leno's 724,000.

Related:

Clark's Kurt Sutter, creator of FX's ‘Sons of Anarchy,' explains how he really feels about Jersey