You already know that cable channels can produce great television. But there’s more that lies between network and HBO than Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and great shows get lost in that chasm. Fx’s one-hour drama, Sons of Anarchy, is one of them. The third season premiered last night, and it did not disappoint, but I’ll refrain from spoiling it for you, because you should be watching it yourself.
Sons of Anarchy follows a the Northern California-based Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club/Redwood Originals, or SAMCRO, for short, who essentially run the town of Charming via gun-running, fronted by the Teller-Morrow garage. SAMCRO also keeps drugs out of Charming, which often puts them at odds with rival gangs. Basically, there’s a lot of leather, classic rock, macho dudes, and violence, but there’s also three-dimensional characters and engrossing, gritty stories. If the premise alone doesn’t grab you, here’s six reasons you should tune in.
1. Fans of Shakespeare, take note. Sons of Anarchy is a loose Hamlet allegory, with Charlie Hunnam in the titular role, here named Jax Teller. Jax is the vice-president of SAMCRO; his late father was one of the founding members. His stepfather Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman, in the Claudius role) also a co-founder, is now SAMCRO’s president and is married to Jax’s mother Gemma (Gertrude, natch), played by Katey Sagal. Jax discovers his father’s memoirs, which inspire him to attempt to get SAMCRO to abandon their crime empire and go straight. Of course, Clay resists. Herein is the major conflict.
2. Speaking of Katey Sagal…She’s fantastic as Gemma. This is the role of a lifetime. Gemma has seen much in her life as an old lady to not one, but two SAMCRO founding members. She’s a protective mama bear who rules her family and the other old ladies of SAMCRO, and she’s fierce as hell. I’ll give you this one teaser: she straight jacks a chick across the face with a skateboard. Despite her hard edge, she’s three-dimensional, and bears quite an emotional load for the life she’s chosen. No question, Sagal deserves an Emmy by the time this show is over.
3. Hello, boys. Charlie Hunnam alone is enough eye candy to keep me tuned in (um, yeah, see his photo above), but throw in Ryan Hurst (below) as the scruffy, suffering, angsty Opie, and there’s plenty to keep your hormones amused.
4. Did someone say Henry Rollins? Season Two brings the Black Flag singer/jack of all awesomeness/badass to the cast as a White-separatist footsoldier who’s downright scary. If you’re a fan, you’ll love him in SOA.
5. Great writing. The overarching conflict, that between Jax and Clay, is engrossing, and the catalyst, the narrated writings of Jax’s dead father, slowly expose the mythology behind SAMCRO. Like The Sopranos, Deadwood, or Carnivale, SAMCRO has its own rituals and moral code that run counterculture to mainstream society, but no less important and sacred to its members. The writing team uses these vehicles to create gripping storylines peopled by complex characters.
6. Boss supporting casting. Some of your favorite “Hey, It’s That Guy/Gal” actors make appearances. The Sopranos‘ Drea de Matteo plays Jax’s ex-wife. Dayton Callie, whom you may know as Charlie Utter from Deadwood, plays the conflicted sheriff with allegiances to SAMCRO. Mad Men‘s Maggie Siff skillfully plays Jax’s high school sweetheart, now a doctor. The delicious Titus Welliver, of both Deadwood and Lost will be featured more prominently this season, too, as an IRA kingpin.
So what are you waiting for, bud? Add Sons of Anarchy Seasons 1 & 2 to your Netflix queue stat.
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K Best Oliver would look wicked in some black leather, eh?
