Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in the Central Valley of Northern California. The show centers on protagonist Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the then-Vice President of the club who begins questioning the club and himself.

Sons of Anarchy premiered on September 3, 2008, on cable network FX. Its second season debuted on September 8, 2009, and its third season began on September 7, 2010. The third season of the series attracted an average of 4.9 million viewers per week, making it FX's highest rated series ever, surpassing FX's other hits The Shield, Nip/Tuck, and Rescue Me. On October 7, 2010, Sons of Anarchy was renewed for a fourth season, the first episode of which aired on September 6, 2011.^[1] On October 17, 2011, Sons of Anarchy was renewed for a fifth season.^[2] On February 3, 2012, Sons of Anarchy was renewed for a sixth season.^[3]

Cast and characters[link]

Sons of Anarchy is the story of the Teller-Morrow family of Charming, California, as well as the other members of Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (SAMCRO), their families, various Charming townspeople, and the various rivals, associates, and different law agencies who undermine or support SAMCRO's legal and illegal enterprises. Sons of Anarchy follows the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club but also features a number of ally and rival gangs, such as the Mayans, Calaveras, Devil's Tribe, Grim Bastards, 1-9ers, Nords, the Galindo Cartel, the Lobo Sonora Cartel, RIRA, the Aryan Brotherhood (ABs), and a white separatist group called the League of American Nationalists (LOAN).

Main cast[link]

• Charlie Hunnam as Jackson "Jax" Teller
• Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow
• Mark Boone Junior as Robert "Bobby Elvis" Munson
• Kim Coates as Alex "Tig" Trager
• Tommy Flanagan as Filip "Chibs" Telford
• Maggie Siff as Tara Knowles
• Ron Perlman as Clarence "Clay" Morrow
• Ryan Hurst as Harry "Opie" Winston - season 1, recurring
• William Lucking as Piermont "Piney" Winston - season 1, recurring
• Theo Rossi as Juan-Carlos "Juice" Ortiz - season 1, recurring
• Dayton Callie as former Police Chief Wayne Unser - seasons 1-2, recurring
• Johnny Lewis as Kip "Half Sack" Epps - seasons 1-2

Recurring guest stars[link]

• David LaBrava as Happy
• Winter Ave Zoli as Lyla Winston
• Emilio Rivera as Marcus Alvarez
• Christopher Douglas Reed as Philip "Filthy Phil" Russell
• Taylor Sheridan as Deputy Chief David Hale
• Michael Marisi Ornstein as Chuck Marstein
• Ally Walker as Agent June Stahl
• McNally Sagal as Margaret Murphy
• Jeff Kober as Jacob Hale Jr.
• Nicholas Guest as the voice of John Teller
• Ray McKinnon as Assistant U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter
• Frank Potter as Eric Miles
• Rockmond Dunbar as Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt
• Kenny Johnson as Kozik
• Mitch Pileggi as Ernest Darby
• Jamie McShane as Cameron Hayes
• Titus Welliver as Jimmy O'Phelan
• Patrick St. Esprit as Elliott Oswald
• Adam Arkin as Ethan Zobelle
• Dendrie Taylor as Luanne Delaney
• Marya Delver as Officer Candy Eglee
• Tory Kittles as Laroy Wayne
• Arie Verveen as Liam O'Neill
• Paula Malcomson as Maureen Ashby
• Henry Rollins as AJ Weston
• Kristen Renton as Ima
• Lela Jane Cortines as Ellie Winston
• John Abendroth as Kenny Winston
• Benito Martinez as Luis Torres
• Jose Pablo Cantillo as Hector Salazar
• Danny Trejo as Romero "Romeo" Parada
• Kurt Sutter as "Big" Otto Delaney
• Drea de Matteo as Wendy Case
• Callard Harris as Edmond Hayes
• James Cosmo as Father Kellen Ashby
• Julie Ariola as Mary Winston
• Sprague Grayden as Donna Winston
• Jay Karnes as Agent Josh Kohn
• Zoe Boyle as Trinity Ashby
• Bellina Logan as Fiona Larkin
• Dan Hildebrand as Sean Casey
• Taryn Manning as Cherry
• Sarah Jones as Polly Zobelle
• Andy McPhee as Keith McGee
• James Carraway as Floyd
• Pamela J. Gray as Agent Amy Tyler
• Olivia Burnette as Homeless Woman
• Glenn Plummer as Sheriff Vic Trammel
• Kenneth Choi as Henry Lin
• Tom Arnold as Georgie Caruso
• Keir O'Donnell Lowell Harland, Jr.
• Merle Dandridge as Rita Roosevelt
• Q'orianka Kilcher as Kerrianne Larkin-Telford

Crew[link]

The series was created by Kurt Sutter. Sutter is the showrunner, the series' most prolific writer, and a regular director. He has directed each season finale to date. Sutter had previously worked as an executive producer for the FX series The Shield. The series' other executive producers are father and son team Art Linson and John Linson. Jim Parriott served as an executive producer and writer for the first season only.

Jack LoGiudice served as a consulting producer and regular writer for the first season. He became co-executive producer for the second season. He left the series to work on The Walking Dead. Dave Erickson also worked as a consulting producer for the first and second season and then took over as co-executive producer for the third season. The series other regular writers are supervising producer Chris Collins and co-producer Regina Corrado.

Sutter drew regular directors from The Shield including Stephen Kay, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Guy Ferland and Billy Gierhart. Paris Barclay joined Sons of Anarchy as an executive producer for the fourth season, a role which saw him irregularly direct episodes.

Episodes[link]

Story[link]

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (January 2012)

Concept[link]

The Sons of Anarchy (SOA) is an outlaw motorcycle club with many charters in the United States and overseas. The show focuses on the original and founding charter, Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original,^[9] referred to by the acronym SAMCRO.^[10] or Sam Crow. This nickname is also reflected in the original title of the show, Forever Sam Crow.^[11] The Redwood charter is headquartered in Charming, California, in a clubhouse adjacent to the Teller-Morrow auto mechanic shop. Led by former President Clay Morrow, the club protects and controls Charming through close community relationships, bribery and violent intimidation.

John Teller and Piermont "Piney" Winston co-founded SAMCRO in 1967 following their return from the Vietnam War, where both men served in the paratroops.^[12] The first charter was called "Redwood" because they weren't settled in any one city but just cruised the Northern California coast from Eureka to Big Sur, which is Redwood country. It wasn't until after Gemma, John's wife, became pregnant with her first son, Jackson, that they decided to settle in Charming, the town where Gemma grew up. At that point, John Teller thought Charming was a little too cute for a charter name, so he called the charter the Redwood Originals. That's when the SAMCRO handle was born. Six of the "Redwood Original 9" members were veterans; Clay Morrow was the youngest of the original members. John died in 1993, Gemma remarried to Clay. John and Gemma's son, Jackson (Jax), grows up around the club and becomes Vice President of SAMCRO. Jax is also connected to Tara, a doctor at St. Thomas Hospital.

Club members wear vests known as cuts or kuttes (jacket with the sleeves cut off). The SOA patch on the back is a Grim Reaper holding a crystal ball with the anarchy "A", and wielding the Reaper's traditional scythe, the handle of which has been replaced by the M16 rifle that the club's founders wielded in Vietnam. Only full members can wear the "patch". Other smaller patches on the vest stand for different things, examples being "Men of Mayhem", which is worn by club members who have spilled blood on the club's behalf, and "First 9", worn by the original nine members of SOA. Jax also commonly wears a cap with the words "Reaper Crew", and at least four female characters affiliated with the club (Gemma, Tara, Wendy, and Lyla) have crow tattoos. The Sons ride customized motorcycles of various types. Club members have "day jobs" in local industries, most of them working at the Teller-Morrow garage as mechanics, but they primarily make money by illegally importing weapons, modifying and selling them to various gangs, along with protection runs for local businesses by protecting valuable truck shipments from hijacking.

The club operates out of a clubhouse on the same lot as the Teller-Morrow auto shop. The clubhouse includes a living area with multiple rooms (where members sometimes crash for the night), a fully operational bar, a pool table, a kitchen, a workout room, and the "chapel", a room with an elaborate conference table made of redwood that has a reaper logo carved into the top, where the patched members meet to discuss club business and vote on major decisions. The club also owns a secluded cabin in the woods and formerly had a warehouse outside of town where they assembled the illegal weapons.

SAMCRO keeps meth traffickers and drug dealers out of Charming, which puts them at odds with the meth-distributing white supremacist Nords, headed by Ernest Darby; this earns them respect and admiration from the townspeople, who believe the Sons do more to protect their town than its own police. SAMCRO also has to deal with a rival Oakland-based motorcycle club (MC), the Mayans led by Marcus Alvarez (who also features in The Shield episode 2, season 2). Other groups in SAMCRO's orbit include the San Francisco–based Chinese mafia Lin Triad, led by Henry Lin; the Italian American Cacuzza crime family; the Real IRA of Ireland, which supplies them with illegal Russian-made guns; the "One-Niners", an African American street gang (who also appeared on The Shield, thus possibly putting the two in the same fictional universe) to whom SAMCRO sell weapons; and various affiliates in the state prison system, where many members of the club have been incarcerated at one time or another.

Sutter has said of the Shakespeare element, "I don't want to overplay that but it's there. It was Jax's father who started the club, so he's the ghost in the action. You wonder what he would have made of the way it turned out. It's not a version of Hamlet but it's definitely influenced by it."^[13] Ron Perlman believes "they’re going to stick to the structure of Hamlet all the way to the end (of the series)."^[14]

Season 1[link]

The series begins with the torching of a SAMCRO gun-assembly warehouse and the theft of guns by a rival club, the Mayans. The police attend the scene, where a cop, Tramell, who is on the SAMCRO payroll finds two dead illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, Jax's estranged meth-addicted wife Wendy, who is pregnant with his child, collapses. An emergency C-section is performed and the baby is delivered ten weeks prematurely. Jax struggles with the direction the club is taking, away from its roots and into less legal territory. Gemma tells Wendy that if she tries to gain custody of the child, Abel, that she will kill Wendy, and Gemma supplies her with drugs which Wendy eventually takes and from which she overdoses. Charming Deputy Chief Hale finds the immigrants' bodies at the burnt-out warehouse, but Tig and Bobby remove them before he can forensically examine them. Tara receives a threatening phone call from a former boyfriend and ATF agent, Josh Kohn, who comes to Charming to investigate the Sons.

To solve a gun-trafficking problem under the ATF's watchful eye, the Sons head out to Indian Hills, Nevada, to patch over the Devil's Tribe Motorcycle Club. While there, Clay sleeps with a girl named Cherry, who also takes a liking to Half Sack. Kohn follows the Sons and witnesses their shoot out with the Mayans. Kohn provides Tara pictures of Jax in very compromising places to try to split the two. The Sons soon become aware of Kohn's presence in Charming. Clay is arrested on charges of aiding and abetting a triple homicide after guns the Sons sold were used in a shoot out. Cherry arrives in Charming, and Gemma realizes that Clay has slept with her. Shortly after, Gemma assaults her with a skateboard, for which she is also arrested.

Tara reveals to Jax that Kohn has been stalking her since she broke up with him, and that she has a restraining order on him. Jax throws Kohn through a window before beating him and telling him to stay away from Tara. Kohn is arrested for breaking his restraining order, an arrest which ends Kohn's career as a federal agent. Kohn returns to Tara's house and attempts to rape her, but Tara is able to grab Kohn's gun and shoot him in the stomach. Jax comes to her aid, advising Tara to let the police handle the situation. When Kohn calls Tara a "biker slut", Jax shoots him in the head. Jax takes Kohn's body to the hills and later comes back to burn it. He also throws his father's memoir into the fire, but takes it back out within seconds.

Opie botches a planned assassination that was a favor for the IRA and Bobby steps in to complete the task. However, their crime is witnessed by a young girl. ATF Agent Stahl tries to crack the unity of the club by interrogating the women associated with the club: Tara, Luann, Donna, and Cherry. Stahl arrests Cherry on outstanding warrants, but Unser aids Cherry, who escapes Charming that night. When Big Otto learns that Stahl is trying to use the RICO Act to bring the club down for racketeering, he violently assaults Stahl. The young girl who witnessed Bobby commit murder provides the ATF with sketches of Bobby and Opie, who are subsequently arrested. Stahl sets up Opie to look like a rat, even though she knows it endangers his life, and Tig and Clay fall for the ploy. They believe Opie has turned informant when they find wire taps in Opie's phone and truck. Clay orders Tig to kill Opie without telling anyone else in the club; however, Tig accidentally kills Donna when she is driving Opie's truck.

Clay and Tig set up the shooting to look like the One-Niners shot Donna. However, feeling guilty, Deputy Hale tells Jax that Stahl set up Opie. Jax subsequently realizes that Clay organized the shooting. The Sons, Tig, Happy, and Chibs, find the witness to prevent her from testifying. Tig is about to kill her. Jax follows them and confronts Tig, putting a gun to his head. Tig decides not to kill the witness. Jax threatens her and gives her enough money to leave California. Jax is clearly unhappy remaining under Clay's rule, as he sees Clay as immoral and taking the club from its roots.

Season 2[link]

The season opens with the arrival of a new threat in Charming, white separatists called the League Of American Nationalists (LOAN).^[15] LOAN's leader and backer businessman Ethan Zobelle and Zobelle's enforcer A.J. Weston, seek to drive the Sons of Anarchy from the town of Charming. To send a message to SAMCRO, Zobelle arranges for the kidnapping and sexual assault of Gemma by Weston and two others who gang rape Gemma. Zobelle's own daughter, Polly, lures Gemma into this trap. Gemma chooses to keep silent about her rape to prevent her husband and son from retaliating.

From prison, Big Otto reaches out to SAMCRO, asking them to help his wife, Luann, and her pornography studio after a raid from law enforcement and intimidation from a rival pornographer, Georgie Caruso, threaten her business. Jax proposes that SAMCRO become partners in Luann’s porn business and offer protection to her and her performers, a move he hopes will raise money for the club legitimately while they rebuild their other revenue streams.

Opie, struggling to deal with Donna’s death, throws himself fully into the MC and, consequently, becomes increasingly distant from his children. Fueled by SAMCRO’s role in Donna’s death, the rift between Clay and Jax continues to widen, with Jax challenging most of Clay's decisions. When a LOAN car bomb nearly kills Chibs, Clay demands immediate retaliation. But retaliation was what LOAN wanted, and Clay, Jax, Bobby, Tig, Juice, and Happy are arrested by the San Joaquin Sheriffs in a botched attempt to attack Ethan Zobelle. While in jail, Agent Stahl from the ATF returns in an attempt to get SAMCRO to rat out their IRA connections. Although they do not give up the IRA, Stahl succeeds in provoking Clay and Jax into a physical confrontation in jail. Out on bail, the divisions in the club only get worse. The tension between Jax and Clay reaches a breaking point when the porn studio burns down shortly after Clay announces he wants SAMCRO out of the porn business. Jax initially believes that Clay had the place torched and announces that he is going "Nomad". Most of the SAMCRO members are upset with Jax's decision but ultimately vote in favor of his going Nomad. In order to convince Jax to stay, Gemma tells Jax and Clay about Weston raping her, which reunites Clay and Jax.

The club, however, nearly falls when Tig, overcome with guilt, confesses to Opie that he murdered Donna because Agent Stahl and the ATF had made it look as though Opie has become a rat. At the same time, Chibs agrees to help Stahl take down the IRA and its head, Jimmy O, who is in town to repair the IRA's relationship with SAMCRO. Based on information supplied by Chibs, the ATF is able to apprehend Edmond Hayes, who they then want to use to apprehend his father, Cameron, and Jimmy O. Opie later witnesses Chibs leaving a meeting with the ATF and informs the club of what he saw but asks them to confront Chibs before acting. Chibs, already having doubts about becoming an informant, reveals to the club what he did.

Meanwhile, the Sons learn that Ethan Zobelle's true intentions are not racially motivated but were to get in business with the Mayans on the prison heroin trade. The MC is able to exploit this information when they reveal it to AJ Weston, who is deeply committed to his racial beliefs and will not tolerate doing business with the Hispanic Mayans. This causes a split between AJ and Zobelle. Weston is soon arrested in connection with the fire at Luann's porn studio. Later, Hale arrives at Impeccable Smokes as the Sons are confronting Zobelle. In attempt to save his and his daughter's lives, Zobelle informs the police that he is in possession of narcotics and is arrested. However, both are released from custody and Unser learns that Zobelle, unbeknownst to both the ATF and Weston, has actually been an FBI informant for the past three years. With the loss of Weston's support, Zobelle turns to the Mayans for protection.

Weston, however, is on his own. Jax and others discover him in a tattoo parlor with his son. They instruct the tattoo artist to jab Weston so that Weston must wash the cut in the bathroom. Jax is waiting in the bathroom for Weston, but Weston has his young son with him. Weston sends his son away with instructions never to tell the police anything. Then, he sits on the toilet, resigned to his fate, and is shot several times by Jax.

Agent Stahl continues to hold Edmond Hayes in an attempt to use Edmond to lure and arrest his father. Out of loyalty to his father, Edmond attempts to kill Stahl, who shoots him when he tries to escape. Shortly afterward, Polly Zobelle, Ethan's daughter who had been having an affair with Edmond, arrives at the safe house. She has been followed there by Gemma, who then shoots her. Stahl witnesses the shooting and lets Gemma escape but then proceeds to frame her for Edmond's shooting. Falling for the frame and becoming emotionally distraught, Cameron breaks into Jax's home, and stabs Half-Sack before threatening Tara and kidnapping Abel.

Meanwhile the rest of the Sons have ambushed Zobelle and the Mayans, forcing the Mayans to retreat while Zobelle flees on his own. The Sons follow Zobelle, who stays in public places, knowing the Sons will not attack him in the open. Zobelle calls Hale for help, but is ignored. After a strange call from Tara, Jax returns to his home, where he discovers the body of Half-Sack, and finds Tara tied up, and she tells Jax that Cameron has taken Abel. Jax calls Clay who returns to help track down Cameron without killing Zobelle. The Sons pursue Cameron, who makes his way to the docks where he takes Abel and boards his boat. Chief Unser, after receiving a phone call from Gemma, is last seen driving in his police cruiser with her past Charming's city limits, apparently running off with her. Ethan Zobelle is seen quickly getting on a chartered plane back to Budapest without his dead daughter, Polly. The season ends with the Sons arriving just as Cameron is leaving the docks.

Season 3[link]

Days later, Gemma is hiding up north in Rogue River, Oregon with Tig, while the club tries to sort things out in Charming. The club tries to close in on Cameron's trail, but find that he has liquidated his assets and apparently fled the country. Gemma and Tig visit Gemma's father, Nate (Hal Holbrook) who suffers from dementia. At the end of Half-Sack's wake, masked men commit a drive-by shooting. Deputy Hale is fatally run down by the vehicle.

Having fled to Belfast with Abel, Cameron confesses his sins to his cousin Father Ashby, an intermediary between Jimmy O and the True IRA Council. Ashby subsequently has Cameron killed, and suggests he will give Abel up for adoption.

The Sons hire a bounty hunter to try to track down Abel, and they believe he and Cameron are in Vancouver. SAMCRO has a bail hearing for the weapons charges upcoming, but they agree to jump bail. SAMCRO receives an email showing Cameron dead in Belfast.

After Jax consults Jimmy O, SAMCRO believes Abel remained in Vancouver when Cameron left for Belfast. Gemma struggles when she takes Nate to his new assisted living home, and returns to Charming to reunite with her grandson, still unaware he has been kidnapped. Father Ashby's sister Maureen, contacts Gemma at Ashby's request to tell her Abel is safe in Belfast. Upon learning of her grandson's abduction, Gemma suffers an arrhythmia and collapses in the lot of Teller-Morrow. Tara confides in Gemma that she is six weeks pregnant with Jax's child. Jax makes a deal with Stahl behind SAMCRO's back. In exchange for his mother's freedom and the downgrade of the pending weapons charges against the club, Jax will deliver Jimmy O and his IRA contacts. Oswald agrees to smuggle the Sons to Belfast. Jax breaks up with Tara and the next morning Tara walks in on Jax in bed with pornstar Ima.

The recently ousted and humiliated former president of the Calaveras MC, Hector Salazar, begins surveiling Jax and Tara. After finding out that John Teller had an affair in Belfast that produced a daughter, Gemma escapes from police custody with the help of Tara and her boss, Margaret. Tara and Lyla both make appointments at an abortion clinic. Gemma leaves with SAMCRO on their trip to Belfast to find Abel, where Jimmy O already anticipates their arrival.

On SAMCRO's arrival in Ireland, Ashby tells Jax that the IRA are tired of Jimmy's profiteering ways, and suggests Jax kills him in exchange for Abel.

Stahl helps Jax uncover information on Ashby and SAMBEL, and warns him not to kill Jimmy O. SAMCRO plans to surprise Jimmy O on a protection run, but he is forewarned and attacks the Sons with a planted bomb that kills several SAMBEL members. SAMCRO tortures Liam until he reveals that he was privy to Jimmy O's plans, as was McGee. Jax kills him, and shortly after Clay pushes McGee from a rooftop, both revealed to SAMBEL as traitors. Ashby tells Jax the location of Abel, but suggests Jax allow him to be adopted so he is not forced into the club life. Jax chooses to leave the child with the family, until Jimmy O kills the adoptive parents and abducts Abel, intending to exchange him for safe passage to America. Abel is returned to Jax after Ashby trades himself for the baby.

Jacob Hale Jr. uses intimidation tactics to continue urban development in Charming. Salazar abducts Tara and Margaret on their way to the abortion clinic. He informs Piney that he will return them in exchange for the murder of Alvarez and $250,000. Under the influence of Jacob Hale Jr, the San Joaquin Sheriff Department will soon take control of the Charming Police Department. Tara attacks Salazar's girlfriend and negotiates Margaret's freedom. Later, Salazar's girlfriend dies.

With the hearing for weapons charges looming, SAMCRO returns to Charming, with the task of finding Tara. Gemma threatens to reveal Stahl's murder of Edmond unless she ends her dealings with Jax. Salazar takes Jacob Hale Jr hostage along with Tara. Unser indicates the need for Salazar to be captured alive to implicate Hale and save Charming Police Department, but during a stand-off, Jax kills Salazar. Amidst the chaos, Stahl intentionally shoots her partner Tyler to protect her lie. Opie proposes to Lyla. Now in the USA, Jimmy O seeks the help of the Russians to aid his escape to South America. Stahl falsely tells Internal Affairs that Agent Tyler shot Edmond and framed Gemma, admitting that Gemma was wrongfully charged.

Jax and the Sons meet the Russians paying $2 million for the exchange of Jimmy O, although it is counterfeit. Jax tells Stahl the location of the exchange so she can intervene and arrest Jimmy, but Jimmy is moved to a different location before she can. Jax assures her that he will give her Jimmy if she reduces their prison sentence, to which she agrees. Stahl arrives at the clubhouse to arrest Jimmy. When Clay asks how she knew he was there, Stahl indicates that Jax was a rat, at which the club is outraged, calling Jax a "dead man". SAMCRO is arrested and loaded into an ATF van, with Jax being isolated from the rest of the club.

Unser stops Stahl on the roadside as she transports Jimmy and warns her of an IRA threat further down the road. Her fellow agents leave to investigate, leaving her alone with Unser and Jimmy. Soon after, Piney, Chibs, Opie and Kozik arrive. Chibs gives Jimmy a Glasgow smile, and then kills him. Opie kills Stahl, after reminding her that she was responsible for Donna's death, killing her in a similar fashion. Proof of Jax's dealings with Stahl is destroyed, leaving the club with the documents provided by Stahl to reduce their sentence. The scene is set to look like the IRA are responsible. In the ATF van, Jax learns of Stahl and Jimmy's demise as the prospects following the ATF van ride past and beep a morse code signal "A-F-F-A" (a tribute to Sonny Barger who plays Lenny the Pimp; Angels Forever, Forever Angels). He smiles, as do the rest of SAMCRO, revealing that the club knew of Jax's plan from the beginning. Tara, meanwhile, finds and reads the letters Maureen had put in Jax's bag. In them, John Teller writes to Mo of his awareness of Gemma and Clay's closeness and his fear that he will soon be murdered by the two. The season ends with Jax rejecting his father's original vision for SAMCRO and embracing Clay's rule.

Season 4[link]

The imprisoned SAMCRO members leave the penitentiary after their 14 month stay and are welcomed home by Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt of the San Joaquin Sheriffs' Department, the new law enforcement presence in Charming. He forbids any paroled members from wearing club cuts in his jurisdiction, declaring them to be a form of gang association. To Clay's displeasure, the club learns that Jacob Hale has fostered the construction of a new suburban development, Charming Heights.

U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter seeks the help of Lieutenant Roosevelt to build a RICO case against SAMCRO. On the eve of Opie's wedding, Jax proposes to Tara, who accepts when Jax explains that he plans to leave the club. The Sons prepare to trade guns with the Russians, using the guise of Opie's wedding as a cover to avoid the law. In retaliation for an attack on Jax in prison, SAMCRO betrays the Russians and murders several of the group – including an undercover agent working with Potter.

After Gemma finds one of Maureen's notes in Tara's belongings, she questions Clay on the allegiance of Jax and Tara to the club. Eventually, she asks Tara about the notes, who openly denies knowledge of their existence.

Jax and Clay meet with Alvarez and Galindo cartel member Romeo Parada (Danny Trejo) to negotiate gun trafficking. To Jax's surprise, Clay agrees to mule cocaine for the cartel in exchange for cash and protection from the Russians. Jax realizes that Clay is taking risks in order to stockpile money for when he leaves the club. Jax makes a private deal with Clay where he agrees to the trafficking, on the condition that when Clay leaves, he does also, and Opie becomes president. The rest of SAMCRO is split on the decision to mule cocaine. After much discussion, the vote passes 6–5, but causes a schism in the club.

As SAMCRO makes their first gun run for the cartel, Clay's arthritis worsens. Gemma warns Piney against digging up the past with Tara. Potter continues to stir up trouble with the club, informing Otto that Bobby was sleeping with Luanne prior to her death.

As the search for the letters continues, it is confirmed that Clay had Jax's father murdered to stop him from ending the gun running arrangement with the IRA. Unser and Gemma are also complicit in that they either knew and/or covered up the "accident".

Eventually, Juice's paranoia of the club knowing his African American origins grows to the point that he makes more contacts with Roosevelt, who makes it clear he needs a sample of the cocaine load if he wants protection. Juice successfully steals one brick, but he falls asleep before he can take a sample and return the brick, so he must hide it before being discovered. The club learns about the missing cocaine which causes an internal conflict between SAMCRO and the Mayans, forcing both clubs to test their members to see if they are guilty of stealing the brick. Phil and Ratboy, two of SAMCRO's prospects, fall under suspicion and undergo Russian Roulette amongst other tests of their commitment to the club. Juice, feeling guilty that the prospects are suffering for his mistake, tries to retrieve the brick he stole, but is caught by Miles. When Miles tries to take Juice back to the warehouse to reveal the theft, the two fight, and Juice shoots and kills Miles, framing him for the missing drugs.

Romeo arrives at the warehouse and verifies the successful delivery of the cocaine. Clay asks Romeo for help to kill Tara to keep his secret of John Teller's murder hidden, telling Romeo only that the doctor has information that could compromise their business.

As the club goes to one of Alvarez's drug laboratories to inspect the operation, they are ambushed and shot by a crew who kills several Mayans and wounds Alvarez. Jax gives chase and learns that the attackers were from the Lobo Sonora cartel, the rivals of the Galindo Cartel. The escalating violence gives SAMCRO members second thoughts, especially Bobby, who calls a vote for a new president nominating himself. Clay angrily agrees. That night, Juice attempts suicide by hanging himself in a tree, but the branch breaks and he fails.

The following day, the vote for the new president begins with Clay and Tig voting against Bobby, but the vote is interrupted by an attack by Los Sonora on the garage and clubhouse. They manage to catch one of the attackers who, under questioning using truth serum, reveals a possible traitor in the Mayan ranks. The club plans to use the traitor to send false information to Los Sonora, luring them into an ambush. When the plan fails, SAMCRO finds a truck with the beheaded bodies of Mayans and the SAMTAZ President, Armando, raising tensions over the drug muling even higher.

Jax confronts Piney about his relationship with Clay, confirming once more that he will not follow in his father's footsteps. Feeling cornered by Piney's threat to show the letters to the club, Clay visits Piney at the cabin demanding the letters. When Piney refuses, Clay appears to leave, only to burst back through the door and shoot Piney with his own shotgun, killing him. In an attempt to implicate Los Sonora for the killing, Clay paints the initials LS on a photo of the First 9 in Piney's blood.

The club receives information from the Galindo Cartel that suggests the One-Niners are working with Los Sonora, while Clay sets a meeting between the Irish Kings and Galindo for new, high-powered weaponry. The club decides to arrange a meeting with Laroy of the One-Niners, at which the Galindo Cartel appears and a brief fight ensues, but they instead use Laroy as a way to drag Sonora's men into a trap. This fails, however, as the Sonora Cartel members are equipped with destructive explosive weaponry which they use to escape. When Galindo Cartel member Luis wants to kill the Niners, Jax manages to save them by having them side with them, at the same time Luis gives Clay a cell phone for his contact to kill Tara. him, but Gemma convinces him otherwise and Unser plans to use the blame Clay put on Sonora for a new plan. Gemma talks with Tara, who tells Gemma that the letters would put Jax deeper into the club out of guilt, so she won't show them to him. Juice is cornered by Lincoln Potter, who seemingly persuades Otto after knowing that Georgie had an alibi and that Bobby lied to him, letting him know that they have more than enough proof to potentially arrest every charter of the club, but that he wants the RIRA.

Jax confronts Clay about letting Bobby know he wants to quit the club and for promising him the Presidency over Opie as was the deal. Clay blames Jax's changes on Tara to which he warns him to never insult Tara again. This leads to a talk with Gemma, who assures Clay that Tara won't let Jax read the letters and makes him promise to not hurt Tara. However, Clay later uses the cell phone given by Luis to contract the hit on Tara. The next morning, Clay takes $25,000 of personal savings to pay the contract to kill Tara. Unaware that Jax was going to escort Tara along with Abel and Thomas, Clay desperately tries to call back the hit, but is unsuccessful, and Tara is nearly abducted and gets a severe injury to her right hand that Tara believes is permanent. Clay meets Romeo and tries to end the hit but is convinced that Tara is better off dead, to which he reluctantly agrees.

The club and The Mayans go meet Laroy to contact Lobo Sonora; however, due to the murder of 3 One-Niners, Laroy's men gun down a Mayan for being Mexican. This sparks a brief but intense fight that is stopped by Laroy who demands both clubs to leave. Jax tells Opie that he wants to quit the club, which shocks him. Opie tries to convince Jax to stay, but Jax tells Opie to fix his life with Lyla and talk to Piney. Juice is further cornered by Lincoln Potter into informing him of the meeting or risk the RICO act, with Roosevelt disgusted at Linc.

Gemma is horrified by what Clay has done and confronts him, further angering Clay who demands her to stop. However, Gemma threatens to tell the truth and aims a gun at Clay, which ends in a fight which injures Clay but leaves Gemma's face severely beaten, prompting Clay to sleep at the clubhouse that night. Gemma calls Unser who, given what Clay has done, wants to report him to the authorities, but Gemma tells Unser that Clay is beyond salvation and as such "he will die by the hands of a Son".

The following morning, the club meets with the Galindo cartel to prepare the weapons for the battle against the Sonoras' settlement in California. The club and the Gallindo Cartel are able to ambush 3 members who reveal the main camp's location; however, they are faced against landmines and a shootout ensues, with Kozik getting blown up when he stepped on a mine. The club kills most of the remaining Sonoras using RPGs.

Wendy, who was gone for rehabilitation, is back and proclaims to both Tara and Gemma that even though she gave up custody, she wants to get closer to Abel. Otto strikes a deal with Linc Potter for information; among the benefits, that First 9 member Lenny the Pimp is allowed visitations in exchange of criminal information. The club finds from Oswald that the Katsuki Family, Georgie's Asian investors, had met with Jacob Hale beforehand and are willing to invest in Charming Heights. Bobby, Opie, and Tig confront Georgie about this and, under threat, he confesses that he sent men to attack Luann but her death was unexpected. As a result, Georgie is killed.

Seeing Gemma's beaten face, Tig shows his disgust towards Clay and gives Clay his "Sergeant-at-Arms" patch, resigning his position. Opie goes to visit Piney only to find his father dead with Unser following. Opie confronts Unser, who tells Opie the truth about Clay, further shocking him and driving him over the edge.

A meeting takes place between the club and the Irish kings. The IRA express their discomfort with Jax's decision to use RPG's to rescue Clay during the fight with Los Sonora. They eventually agree to consider the continual sale of heavy weapons provided the club does them a local service. Meanwhile, Romeo and Clay meet to address the concerns of the Irish regarding their liability should the heavy weapons be used north of the border. Jax, Clay, and Bobby discuss Jax's future with the club, agreeing that Bobby should get the Presidency, Chibbs the V.P; and Happy being promoted to Sergeant-at-arms. Bobby heads out to inform Otto that Georgie has been finally killed, and is escorted to an empty receiving room to wait for Otto.

Jax leaves to check in on Tara only to discover that Wendy has returned to see Abel and Gemma is trying handle it behind Jax's back. Unser has the local mortician from season 1, remove Piney's body and bring it to the mortuary for an "after-hours" cremation. Juice is again picked up by law-enforcement, but this time it is official ATF. Jax, Chibbs, Tig, and Happy agree to escort one of the "Irish Kings" to sort out an issue at another one of their American businesses. While there, Jax discovers it is another Irish "baby-factory" similar to the one that Abel was almost adopted from in Ireland in season three. Jax starts a small riot at the adoption house leading Leland (Irish King) to question his decision making process with Clay.

Jax confronts Wendy who is still intent on seeing Abel and threatens to see a Judge if Jax refuses. When Wendy ends her argument with "I'm not going anywhere," Jax responds with "I am." Clay proceeds to visit Tara alone in the hospital, where he makes it known to Tara that he knows about the letters. He offers a trade of allowing her and her family with Jax to leave Charming, but threatens her if she doesn't give Clay the letters. On his way out, Clay bumps into Gemma who alerts him that Opie knows about his father's murder and will soon be coming after Clay. She ends their encounter with a kiss on the cheek suggesting that she is saying "goodbye" to Clay. Jax then arrives to sort things out between Tara and Gemma, letting Gemma know his plans for leaving. Jax leaves after receiving a mysterious phone call which we find out is to go meet Opie at the mortuary.

Otto finally has all of the arrangements in his deal to turn state's evidence worked out and signs his deal. He finally sits down with Bobby and reveals his betrayal, as law enforcement lead Bobby out in handcuffs. He is taken to a cell. We see that in an adjoining cell, Juice is being held, sitting biding his time until the RICO sting goes down. Bobby does not notice Juice. Upon arriving at the mortuary, Jax sees Opie, Unser, and a coffin in the crematorium. Unser's intention is to talk to Opie, as requested by Gemma, and tell him that there was a mistake and it was not Clay who killed his Father. However Unser does not get the opportunity to talk to Opie and leaves Jax and Opie together in the Crematorium. Jax attempts to console an unresponsive Opie who is holding his father's cut, which he eventually throws into the flames, to burn with his Father's remains. After the cremation, Jax walks outside to find out how Piney died, only to have Opie pull a gun on him and divulge that Clay was responsible. Jax suggests that this is an issue for the club to decide, to which Opie responds by shooting out the tire on his bike. Opie then takes off to confront Clay, with Jax trying to catch up. At the clubhouse, a fearful Clay lies in wait. Opie jumps Clay and confronts him with his father's death, forcing him to sit at the head of the table, stating he'll "die at the gavel". Jax rushes in with his gun pointed at Opie, threatening to kill Opie if he doesn't lower his gun. However, Opie opens fire anyway and hits Clay twice in the chest.

Clay is still alive and makes a gasping sound. Opie raises his gun to shoot him again but Jax shoots him in the wrist. Unser and one of the prospects hear the gunshots and come running. They move Clay outside and call the police. Jax tells Opie to go hide out in the cabin until he sorts things out. They leave Unser to tell the police and the rest of the gang that Clay was shot by two black men driving a SUV. Clay is taken to the hopsital where he goes into surgery. Jax drives out to Stockton, where he meets with Lenny "The Pimp" who heard Otto has made a deal with Law Enforcement. Meanwhile, Tig blames himself for not being there when Clay was shot, and goes after the Niners for revenge. He tries to run over Laroy, but kills the girl Laroy is with. He is chased by The Niners until Jax and the gang come to save him. Afterward Jax has a meeting with the Gallindo Cartel and tells them about Otto. Romero checks with his people and tells Jax if Otto was snitching he would have found out, so the meeting with the Irish is still on.

Gemma goes to Tara and tells her the truth about Clay. She convinces Tara to give her the letters so Gemma can give them to Clay in exchange for Tara's safety. Gemma gets the letters and removes the ones that implicate her and Unser in the J.T. death. She takes the letters to Jax and urges him to kill Clay and take his rightful place at the head of the club. While Jax reads the letters, Gemma waits outside the clubhouse with Unser and tells him what she did, while Tara drives up and asks to speak with Gemma alone. Tara ask Gemma if she gave the letters to Clay and Gemma stays quiet. Tara reveals she knows about Gemma's plan claiming "I'm smarter than you and I know Jax better." At this point Jax comes over and tells Tara that he is going to kill Clay. Tara says she knows and pulls a needle with blood thinner out of her bag and tells Jax to inject Clay with it and pull out his chest tube, so it would look like an accident. She tells him to get out of Charming after killing Clay, which he agrees with. Jax leaves and Gemma asks Tara what she thinks she is doing. Tara tells her "what you taught me. He's (Jax) mine." Gemma is visibly angered.

As Lincoln Potter is ready to move on his RICO operation, he's called off by Romero Parada and Luis Torres, who are revealed to be CIA agents, who the government allows to run their cartel so as long as they bring others down for political reasons. During the meeting, the Irish King Galaan, makes it clear he does not trust Jax and will only deal with Clay. Romero and Luis talk with Jax, and reveal their secret of being CIA agents, and instruct him to not reveal it to anybody, and that they need SAMCRO to run the drugs and the weapon supply or they will allow the RICO operation and crush SAMCRO. Jax visits Clay at the hospital, finally making clear that he read the letters. He does not kill Clay as he's needed alive to deal with Galaan, but does however strip him of his position of President, and orders him to stay away from Tara and Gemma. Demoted to the status of an unseated member, Clay agrees knowing that Jax will not listen to his explanation.

Following the halt on the RICO operation, Linc Potter gives Roosevelt a clean record of Juice for him to give him, seemingly parting ways. Potter bursts into the meeting for Charming Heights revealing the true colours of Jacob Hale's investors which Hale masked as Tokyo Fund, as the Natsuki Family, who are heavily involved in sex deals including pedophilia. This puts a recess on the vote.

Deputy Chief Cane reveals that Laroy's girlfriend killed by Tig is the daughter of Damon Pope, the most powerful gangster in Oakland (hinting a possible retaliation). Jax meets with Opie and confirms his suspicions, but warns Opie they need Clay alive (not revealing in full detail about the CIA's threat), and asks him to be his Vice President. Opie, still distrustful, does not give a clear answer. Jax returns home to Tara and tells her the truth about the CIA-backed Cartel dealings and that he must remain as club president while she leaves with the boys. Jax appears at the chapel announcing himself as president with his first act being naming Chibs as his new sergeant-at-arms which he gladly accepts. Happy, Tig and Juice enter the chapel, with Juice finally free of his African-American record. The meeting starts at 8:03 pm with Opie not showing (it is unknown if he later does) as Tara enters the Chapel claiming to Jax that she will also remain in Charming, just as Gemma enters. Tara stands behind Jax in his President seat, mirroring a photo of Gemma and John Teller in the same way.

Season 5[link]

Season 5 is currently in production and will premiere in September 2012. On Kurt Sutter's Sons of Anarchy YouTube channel; Sutterinksoa, he has stated that he has begun writing scripts for episodes one and two for season five as of March 1, 2012. It was announced that Chuck Zito would be joining the cast of Sons as a nomad traveling through Charming.^[16] Another announced cast addition for season five is Jimmy Smits. Smits, known for his work in L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, and The West Wing will play a Latino gang leader and a mentor to Jax.^[17]The premiere episode is titled "Sovereign". Harold Perrineau joined the cast in May as the villain Damon Pope. ^[18]

Production[link]

Sons of Anarchy is primarily filmed at Occidental Studios Stage 5A in North Hollywood, California. Main sets located there include the clubhouse, St. Thomas Hospital and Jax's house. The production rooms at the studio used by the writing staff also double as the Charming police station. External scenes are often filmed nearby in Sun Valley and Tujunga.^[19] Internal and external scenes set in Ireland during season 3 were also filmed at Occidental Studios and surrounding areas. A second production unit shot footage in Ireland used in the third season.^[20]

Reception[link]

Critical reception[link]

Members of the cast during a USO visit to Kuwait

Sons of Anarchy has received favorable reviews from critics over the course of its run, with many singling out Katey Sagal's performance. On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the first season scored 68/100, the second season scored 86/100, the third season scored 84/100 and the fourth season scored 81/100.^{[21][22][23][24]}

The first season received mixed reviews from industry critics. Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe said the first season had “real potential”.^[25]New York Times’ Gina Bellafante spoke highly of the acting ability of the cast, particularly Sagal’s portrayal of Gemma. Brian Lowry of Variety gave a mixed review, admiring Sutter’s creation of the club and the town of Charming but found the early episodes lacking direction.^[26]

The second season saw a notable increase in positive reviews, and was the most critically acclaimed season of the series. Writing for Chicago Tribune, Maureen Ryan called the second season “engrossing”. She elaborated that “the pacing is better [and] the plotting is tighter” and also commends Sagal and Perlman for their performances.^[27] Variety’s Stuart Levine stated that the new season was “compelling”, also complimenting the acting skill of Perlman, Sagal, Hunnam and Siff.^[28] James Poniewozik of TIME called Sagal's performance "devastatingly powerful", and named the series on his list of Top 10 Shows of 2009.^[29]

Some critics felt the third season was dragged down by the cliffhanger of the previous season.^[30][31] James Poniewozik of TIME called the premiere of the third season “breathtaking” and praised Sagal’s performance with Holbrook.^[32] He later stated that the disappearance of Abel helped return the show to its central problem: Jax's allegiance to the club.^[33] Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker agreed that Holbrook and Sagal’s scenes were “beautiful” and called Stephen King’s portrayal of Bachman “chilling”. He also commented that the series handled themes of loyalty and family especially well.^[34] Maureen Ryan commented that the third season divided critics and fans alike, suggesting the expanded Belfast cast made it harder for the audience to invest in the characters' journeys.^[35] Ryan later questioned the credibility of Hector Salazar's story, noting that he was inferior to other villainous characters such as Stahl, Zobelle and Weston. However she praised the performance of Ally Walker, comparing her character to The Shield's Vic Mackey.^[36] Critic Alan Sepinwall said the season was "interesting but uneven", noting that the plot gained traction in later episodes.^[37][38] Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter said "Sutter should be applauded for shaking things up", calling the slower pace a "creative necessity".^[39]

Alan Sepinwall stated that the fourth season risked predictability by returning to a successful formula of storytelling, but still preferred the episodes to that of season three.^[40] Maureen Ryan reviewed the fourth season positively. She praised the addition of Ray McKinnon (Lincoln Potter), comparing the quality of the character to Breaking Bad's antagonist, Gustavo Fring.^[41] The AV Club called the fourth season more "focused" and "operatic". AV Club reviewer Zack Handlen was fond of the season but felt disappointed with the finale, saying it featured a "lousy case of dictated convenience, of an arbitrary and unbelievable reveal used to shift characters around to where the writers want them to be for next season, as opposed to where they might land organically." However, the review did praise Charlie Hunnam's performance in the finale.^[42][43] Time Magazine said the fourth season was the strongest the show had been since Season 2, but that the show needed to end sooner rather than later. Time also agreed that the contrivances of the finale were sometimes too visible, stating that "it’s the principle: you can only turn up alive at your own funeral so many times before it starts to lose its impact."^[44]

Awards and nominations[link]

Sons of Anarchy was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Drama at the 2010 TCA Awards. Katey Sagal received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series (Drama) at the 68th Golden Globe Awards for her role in the third season. She also received a nomination for a 2010 Satellite Award in the category of Best Actress – Television Series (Drama), as well as a TCA nomination for the Individual Achievement in Drama

Music[link]

Soundtracks[link]

Sons Of Anarchy Music TrackList Three EP soundtracks have been released by 20th Century Fox Records, on iTunes, featuring songs from each series. The first five-song EP, entitled Sons of Anarchy: North Country – EP, was released on September 8, 2009 and featured the full version of the Emmy Award nominated^[45] theme song "This Life".^[46] A second five-song EP, entitled Sons of Anarchy: Shelter – EP, was released on November 24, 2009 while a third six-song EP, entitled Sons of Anarchy: The King is Gone, was released on November 23, 2010.

Other music[link]

Other notable songs featured in the series include : Writings on The Wall by The Album Leaf(In Series Premiere), "Alesund" by Sun Kil Moon, Bobby's Elvis covers, a cover version of "Son of a Preacher Man" by Katey Sagal, "Hard Row" by the Black Keys which is featured in the Pilot episode (the music of the Black Keys often features in the series), along with "Plenty Strong and Plenty Wrong" by Maylene and the Sons of Disaster on the radio in the pilot episode, "Can't Get Used to Losing You" by Andy Williams, a cover of "Forever Young" by Audra Mae, "Burn This Town" by Battleme, "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" by Dropkick Murphys, "Comin Home" by Murder by Death, "Hell" by The Upsidedown, "Power Player" by Clutch, "Railroad Cancellation" by Don Caballero, "Dolphin Center" by The Donkeys, "Stop" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Hands in the Sky" by Straylight Run, "People, Turn Around" by Delta Spirit, and the blues song "John the Revelator" by Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers. The trailer for the 2009 season featured "Son's Gonna Rise" by Citizen Cope. Several Monster Magnet songs are used: "Monolithic" (from Monolithic Baby!) are used in season one, while "Radiation Day" and "Slut Machine" (both also from Monolithic Baby!) and "Freeze and Pixelate" (from 4-Way Diablo) are used in season two, and "100 Million Miles" (from Mastermind) appears late into season three. In the final episode of season three, "Get It On" by Turbonegro was used during the Russian chase scene. "Lot Lizard" by the band The Glasspack is used in season 2. Another notable song is a cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" by a teenage band at the end of the episode "Giving Back". In 2011, "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers was used as a promo song for season 4. In episodes 5 and 8, there was music from the Belgian band The Black Box Revelation, and episode 7 featured the song "Machine Gun Blues" by Social Distortion. The 11/22/11 episode had two more notable pieces in the soundtrack. First was Boo Boo Davis "I'm So Tired", then in the confrontation between Opie and Clay, Noah Gundersens "David" [from his Family cd] is heard - with the line "I want to kill me a giant man". To Be, Act 1 contained "Burn It Down" by Awolnation during the interstate chase from Oakland back to Charming.

International broadcasting[link]

Country	Network	Series Premiere
Australia	showcase One HD FX	2009 2011 Early 2012
Belgium	2BE Be 1	April 8, 2010
Brazil	FX	2009
Bulgaria	bTV Cinema	April 2, 2010
Canada	Super Channel FX Canada	Oct. 20, 2008 2011
Croatia	HRT	2010
Czech Republic	Prima COOL	January 2, 2011
Denmark	TV2	March 3, 2010
Finland	Sub	2010
France	M6	2009
Germany	Pro7	July 2012
Greece	FX	March 2010
Hungary	Cool TV	April 2012
Iceland	Stöð 2	2011
India	FX	2010
Ireland	RTÉ Two	2009
Israel	HOT 3	2009
Italy	FX	2009
Lithuania	TV6	2010
Template:Country data NAL Malaysia	FX	2009
Netherlands	RTL7	November 21, 2010
Norway	MAX TV2 Zebra	2010
New Zealand	TV3 The Box	October 20, 2010 January 2, 2012
Poland	FOX TVP HD	2010 September 4, 2011
Portugal	FX	2009
Slovenia	RTV Slovenija	February 26, 2011
Spain	Fox Crime	February 15, 2010
Sweden	TV11	March 13, 2010
Switzerland	TSR	2009
Turkey	FX	2009
United Kingdom	5USA (originally Bravo until it closed down)	2009
Philippines	Jack TV	2010
Latvia	TV6	2010

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sons of Anarchy

• Sons of Anarchy at FXNetworks.com
• Sons of Anarchy at the Internet Movie Database
• Sons of Anarchy at TV.com
• Sons of Anarchy at Metacritic
• Sutter Ink Blog—official blog of show runner Kurt Sutter
• Sons of Anarchy at TV3
• Sons Of Anarchy Music TrackList

Charlie Hunnam
Hunnam at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2011.
Born	Charles Matthew Hunnam (1980-04-10) 10 April 1980 (age 32) Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England, UK
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Katharine Towne (1999–2002)

Charles Matthew "Charlie" Hunnam (born 10 April 1980) is an English actor. He is perhaps best known to UK audiences as Pete Dunham in Green Street and as Nathan Maloney in the Channel 4 hit drama Queer as Folk and to United States audiences as Vice President/President of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original Jackson "Jax" Teller in the FX network series, Sons of Anarchy.

Life and career[link]

Hunnam was born in Newcastle, England on 10 April 1980. He is the second oldest of four boys. Hunnam stated that growing up, his favorite actors were Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Penn.

Discovered while clowning around in a shoe shop by a production manager for the British children's show Byker Grove, Charlie Hunnam was cast in his first role as the long-locked child model "Jason" in three episodes of the show. His first major role came soon after as Nathan Maloney in the Channel 4 drama Queer as Folk (UK). He followed this up with his role as "Daz" in the British film Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?. Upon completion of both projects, Hunnam relocated to Los Angeles, California to pursue his acting career.

His career, meanwhile, expanded to include a recurring role as Gregor Ryder in a TV Series for The WB network called Young Americans. He then appeared in the short-lived Fox series Undeclared as the British drama student Lloyd Haythe. The series was cancelled after one season, despite critical acclaim. Following Undeclared, he appeared in Abandon, Nicholas Nickleby (2002), and Cold Mountain.

Hunnam has stated that he does not wish to simply take any role that he is offered: "I have 60 years to make the money, but the choices I make in the next five years are really going to define my career."^[1] This decision resulted in his return to the United Kingdom to take the lead as Pete Dunham in Green Street (also known as Green Street Hooligans, Hooligans, and The Yank).

Hunnam played the role of Patric, a member of "The Fishes", in Children of Men (2006) directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Hunnam states that this role was the final part in his "trilogy of mad men". "I played the psycho in Cold Mountain, my character in Green Street is fairly psychotic and now I've got this role."^[2]

Hunnam currently stars as Vice President Jackson "Jax" Teller in the FX network series, Sons of Anarchy, a prominent motorcycle club in a small fictional California town.

Hunnam was voted ninth in Elle Girl's top 100 sexiest men in 2005.^[3]

In 2011, Hunnam appeared in The Ledge, a layered love story with themes of religious faith co-starring Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, and Terrence Howard. In 2009, Hunnam sold his screenplay, Vlad, to Summit Entertainment with Brad Pitt's Plan B Studios co-producing.^[4] The film is being directed by music video director and photographer Anthony Mandler and will focus on Dracula as a young prince.^[5]

Personal Life[link]

Hunnam married Katharine Towne in 1999. The couple divorced in 2002.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Charlie Hunnam at the Internet Movie Database

Katey Sagal
Katey Sagal, at the San Diego Comic-Con International, in July 2010.
Born	Catherine Louise Sagal (1954-01-19) January 19, 1954 (age 58)[1] Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer-songwriter
Years active	1971–present
Spouse	Freddy Beckmeier (m. 1977–1981) Jack White (m. 1993–2000; 2 children) Kurt Sutter (m. 2004–present; 1 child)
Children	2 daughters and one son
Website
www.kateysagal.net

Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first achieved widespread fame as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married... with Children, for which she was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Television Series and two American Comedy Awards during the show's run.

Sagal also voices the character of Leela on the animated series Futurama and its related direct-to-DVD movies since 1999. She is also known for starring on the show 8 Simple Rules in the role of Cate Hennessy, where she worked with John Ritter until his death, leading to Sagal taking over as the series' lead for the remainder of the show's run.

Since 2008, she has played the role of matriarch Gemma Teller Morrow in the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy, for which she won a Golden Globe in 2011. She has been married to the show's creator, Kurt Sutter, since 2004.

Early life[link]

Sagal was born in California to a show business family of five children,^[2] including younger sisters Jean and Liz Sagal, a pair of twin actresses, and actor Joe Sagal. Her mother, Sara Zwilling, a writer and producer, died of heart disease, and her father, Boris Sagal, a director,^[3] died in an accident on the set of the television movie World War III.^[2] Sagal and her siblings grew up in Brentwood, Los Angeles.^[2]

Career[link]

Sagal began her career in Hollywood, appearing in several made for TV movies between 1971 and 1975, including a small role as a receptionist in the Columbo installment Candidate for Crime (directed by her father) and in 1973 working as a backing vocalist for various singers, including Bob Dylan and Tanya Tucker.

In 1978, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons asked her to sing background vocals on his self-titled solo album. During this time she was also a member of the rock group The Group With No Name. She also sang backup for Bette Midler, who hired her for her 1979 tour as one of The Harlettes. In 1981, Sagal appeared as a backup singer on the Molly Hatchet album Take No Prisoners.

Sagal returned to television in 1985 in the series Mary starring Mary Tyler Moore. This led to her being cast as Peggy Bundy on the sitcom Married... with Children (1987–1997). She portrayed the lower-class, sex-starved wife of shoe salesman Al Bundy. During her audition for the role, Sagal brought her own red bouffant wig and with the producers' approval, the look transitioned into the show. As Peg, she wore the wig, capri-length leggings with a large belt, and high slip-on heels, which were all fashion styles from the 1960s. The series ran for eleven years.

After the end of Married... with Children, several more television films followed, and she also contributed to the children's cartoon Recess as the voice of Spinelli's mother. In 1999, Matt Groening cast her as the purple-haired, cyclopian spaceship captain, Leela, in his science fiction cartoon comedy Futurama. The show developed a cult following, but was canceled after five seasons.^[4] However, airings in syndication on Adult Swim^[5] and Comedy Central^[6] increased the show's popularity and led Comedy Central to commission a series of Futurama direct-to-DVD films, which the network later rebroadcast as 16 episodes.^[7] She reprised her role as Leela in these films, and in the new season that began airing June 24, 2010.^[8]

Sagal guest starred as Edna Hyde, Steven Hyde's mother, in three episodes of That '70s Show. She starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Tucker the following year.

She was cast as the wife of John Ritter in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2002. Ritter had completed only three episodes of the second season of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter before his death. The show was cancelled in 2005 after its third season.

In 2005, she made two appearances on Lost as Helen Norwood. In 2007, she had a role in the season finale of The Winner as Glen Abbot's former, and Josh's current, teacher, with whom Glen has his first sexual experience. The following year, she appeared in four episodes of the short-lived series Eli Stone. She currently stars as Gemma Teller Morrow on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, created by her husband, Kurt Sutter.

In January 2009, Sagal reunited with her TV son David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children) for an episode of Faustino's show Star-ving.^[9] In 2010, she appeared twice more on Lost. In 2009 she starred in the film House Broken with Danny DeVito.

In 2010, she returned to the stage in Randy Newman's musical Harps & Angels.^[10]

Musical career[link]

Sagal is also a songwriter. In 1976, while a member of The Group With No Name, she contributed to the album Moon over Brooklyn. She was a member of Bette Midler's backup group The Harlettes in 1978, and again from 1982–83.^[11] She performed backing vocals on the self-titled solo album by Gene Simmons as well as background vocals on Olivia Newton-John's 1985 single "Soul Kiss". Sagal also provided the vocals for "Loose Cannons", the theme song for the movie featuring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd in 1990. The song featured her singing most of the song, while Aykroyd sang the chorus and had some background impersonations from the movie.

On April 19, 1994, she released her first solo album, Well... On June 1, 2004, she released her second album, Room.^[12] She has also contributed to the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack.^[13]

Personal life[link]

Sagal was married to German American musician Freddie Beckmeier (1978–1981) and country music drummer Jack White (November 26, 1993–July 24, 2000). In 1991, Sagal learned she was pregnant. This was unexpected by the directors of Married... with Children, so the pregnancy was written into the storyline of the show. However, in October 1991, she had to have an emergency Caesarean section in her seventh month of pregnancy, ending in the stillbirth of a daughter. The pregnancy on the show was then regarded as a "dream", which was mentioned only briefly at the end of the episode "Al Bundy, Shoe Dick". She also had an early miscarriage around this time. She and White eventually had two children. The writers of Married... with Children deliberately didn't write Sagal's two later pregnancies into the show due to the earlier stillbirth, opting instead to shoot her in instances where her midsection was obscured, such as in a taxicab or at a craps table in Las Vegas.^[14]

Sagal married writer-producer Kurt Sutter in a private ceremony on October 2, 2004, at their home in Los Feliz, California. They have a daughter, who was born through a surrogate mother.^[15]

Filmography[link]