Sutter, Sagal leave the biker life behind for 'Executioner'

To the list of those who have come up with unexpected television follow-ups, add the name Kurt Sutter.

The mentor of "Sons of Anarchy" shifts his focus from a modern biker club to 14th-century warriors as the writer-producer continues his relationship with FX with "The Bastard Executioner," premiering at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15. Filmed on location in Wales, the medieval saga retains Sutter's trademark grit as it follows Wilkin Brattle (played by Lee Jones), who opts to stop fighting on behalf of King Edward I ... but his bid to lead a more tranquil life is short-lived when divine intervention leads him to assume another man's identity and become the title executioner.

"I went in with a lot of details of the world and the mythology," says Sutter, who also acts in the new series, "and I think that John (FX programming chief Landgraf) sparked the character, the depth of the mythology, the themes in it. And although it was unlike anything they had really done before, it's always about character and relationship, as it was with 'Sons.' The outlaw motorcycle culture became a backdrop to a show about a very conflicted hero and the relationships that surrounded him."

Jones' fellow actors include Stephen Moyer ("True Blood") and "Sons of Anarchy" alumna Katey Sagal, alias Mrs. Sutter in real life. Matthew Rhys ("The Americans") and music's Ed Sheeran turn up in guest roles, but Wales itself also can be considered a star of the show.

"It does a lot of the heavy lifting for you," Jones maintains, "because it just feels so real. And I think our back lot and the sets are the only thing I'm getting to see of Wales. I'm so busy that I'm kind of getting the real thing anyway. I'd never been to Wales before, although my family originates from there, so there's some kind of nice synergy going on there."

With Brian Grazer ("Apollo 13," "24") and close Sutter associate Paris Barclay (who directed the "Executioner" pilot) also among the show's executive producers, Moyer concurs on the authenticity of the setting.

"The extraordinary aspect is that our characters, the way that Kurt's written it, would have been in those castles," the actor reflects. "They're the specific castles that our characters would have existed in, so there is a kind of beautiful sort of tying-up of historical detail that is kind of amazing to be part of."

Sagal appreciates her husband supplying her with the vastly different role of Annora of the Alders so soon after working for him as Gemma on "Sons of Anarchy," whom she cites as "a woman who was defensive and sort of always waiting for the next shoe to drop. And the difference in this woman is that she knows that, even if the next shoe drops, that's all right and that there's divinity to everything and there's a path to everything.

"That's kind of her purpose and her message that she's trying to guide our hero through. To play a part like that, which is rooted in faith rather than rooted in fear, is really interesting and exciting for me."