Premiering in September 2008, Sons of Anarchy is an action crime drama that aired on the FX network till December 2004. Kurt Sutter created the series with seven seasons containing 92 episodes.
Throughout its run, the series dealt with themes such as brotherhood, love, redemption, loyalty, and betrayal.
Cast
Sons of Anarchy consists of a host of actors in prominent roles. Charlie Hunnam plays Jax Teller, Katey Sagal plays Gemma Teller Morrow, Mark Boon Junior is Bobby Elvis Munson, Kim Coates is Tig Trager, and Tommy Flanagan plays Chibs Telford.
Apart from them, Johnnie Lewis, Maggie Siff, Ron Perlman, Ryan Hurst, William Lucking, Theo Rossi, Dayton Callie, Jimmy Smits, Drea de Matteo, David Labrava, and Niko Nicotera also play prominent characters in the series.
The series has also cast actors like Emilio Rivera, Tory Kittles, Taylor Sheridan, and Glenn Plummer, amongst others playing recurring characters.
Overview
Sons of Anarchy follows the lives of group members of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club in the fictional Californian town of Charming.
The plot lines of every season revolve around the personal life of the motorcycle club’s president, Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller, and SAMCRO.
SAMCRO is involved in dealing with guns and often deals with rival gangs and politicians.
Jax’s struggle to manage the motorcycle club and maintain his father’s legacy after becoming the club’s president forms the central storyline for the first season. It also showcases the efforts of the federal law enforcement agency to shut down the club.
The storyline for season two shows the battle to control Charming between SAMCRO and LOAN. LOAN is the League of American Nationalists. Jax and Clay also fall apart due to their visions for the motorcycle club.
Seasons three and four showcase the internal fights and disagreements within the club; it gives rise to many outside enemies infiltrating the group and causing problems among its remaining members.
Seasons five and six deal with Jax’s and the club’s struggles in dealing with the death of many of its members and their families. A few of the members get incarcerated in the process. Jax’s wife, Tara, dies.
During the series’ final season, Jax turns himself in and tries to make things right with everyone involved in conflict with SAMCRO.
Reception
The initial two seasons received a warm reception from the audience. However, the third season of Sons of Anarchy had an average of 4.9 million viewers. The series became the highest-rated series on the FX network during its third season.
The show’s fourth and fifth seasons were also the highest-rated in the network’s history.
The critic reviews for Sons of Anarchy have always been favorable. They have applauded Katey Sagal’s performance.
The popularity of the series made the network announce a spin-off series in November 2016. The series ‘Mayans MC’ premiered in 2018 and revolved around the members of a Latino motorcycle club.
Accolades
Sons of Anarchy has received several award nominations, including the Outstanding Achievement in Drama nomination at the TCA Awards, held in 2010.
For her role as Gemma Teller Murrow, Katey Sagal received the Golden Globe for Best TV Actress- Drama at the 68th Golden Globes. She also received nominations for the Satellite Awards and TCA Awards.
Season five of Sons of Anarchy received a Screen Crush Award in the best TV series category.