Set in the fictional small town of Charming in California’s Central Valley, this superb series centres on SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original), an outlaw motorcycle gang that operates a legitimate automotive repair shop as a front for a lucrative, illegal arms-trafficking business.
Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) is the ruthless club president. His stepson Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) is the club’s vice president and the son of its deceased founder, John Teller.
Jax discovers a hidden manifesto written by his late father, detailing a vision for the club to move away from violent crime.
Clay, on the other hand, is determined to keep the illegal gun trade thriving.
Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal) is Jax’s fiercely manipulative and Machiavellian mother and the club’s matriarch.
Jax’s struggle to break the gang’s cycle of violence and lawlessness introduces heavy themes of brotherhood, corruption, family loyalty, and the tragic inevitability of a criminal lifestyle destroying everything it touches.
Clay is eventually stripped of his SAMCRO patch and executed by Jax following a club-mandated vote. Jax then becomes the club president.
Dr Tara Knowles (Maggie Siff) is Jax’s high school sweetheart and serves as a primary moral anchor in his life, and Harry “Opie” Winston (Ryan Hurst) is Jax’s fiercely loyal but tragic childhood best friend who ultimately voluntarily sacrifices his life and is beaten to death in prison to save Jax.
Jax and Tara eventually marry and raise two sons together, Abel (from Jax’s first marriage, who Tara legally adopted) and Thomas.
Tara’s murder at the hands of his own mother (who stabs Tara repeatedly in the head with a barbecue fork) ultimately leads to Jax accepting that the outlaw life will inevitably destroy his family.
Arranging for his ex-wife, Wendy, and his close friend, Nero Padilla, to permanently take his young sons away from Charming, Jax executes his own mother and assassinates the corrupt Irish Kings and local enemies who threatened SAMCRO’s peace.
Visiting his father’s memorial highway site one last time to say goodbye, he then rides his father’s vintage Harley-Davidson down the highway, pursued by a massive convoy of police cruisers and intentionally rides head-on directly into an oncoming semi-truck.
Real-life Hells Angels member David Labrava served as a technical advisor for the series and also played the recurring character Happy Lowman.
After the series ended, a spinoff titled Mayans M.C. aired from 2018 to 2023 and focused on a rival-turned-allied Latino motorcycle club.
Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller
Charlie Hunnam Gemma Teller Morrow
Katey Sagal Clarence ‘Clay’ Morrow
Ron Perlman Robert ‘Bobby Elvis’ Munson
Mark Boone Junior Alexander ‘Tig’ Trager
Kim Coates Filip ‘Chibs’ Telford
Tommy Flanagan Juan Carlos ‘Juice’ Ortiz
Theo Rossi Chief Wayne Unser
Dayton Callie Dr Tara Knowles
Maggie Siff Happy Lowman
David Labrava Harry ‘Opie’ Winston
Ryan Hurst Piermont ‘Piney’ Winston
William Lucking Chuck ‘Chucky’ Marstein
Michael Ornstein Lyla Winston/Dvorak
Winter Ave Zoli Nero Padilla
Jimmy Smits George ‘Ratboy’ Skogstrom
Niko Nicotera Philip ‘Filthy Phil’ Russell
Chris Reed Wendy Case
Drea de Matteo Marcus Alvarez
Emilio Rivera Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt
Rockmond Dunbar Margaret Murphy
McNally Sagal Abel
Ryder Londo Kip ‘Half Sack’ Epps
Johnny Lewis Rane Quinn
Rusty Coones Abel
Evan Londo Kiki
Natalie Skyy Deputy Chief David Hale
Taylor Sheridan Sheriff Eglee
Marya Delver Agent June Stahl
Ally Walker Jacob Hale, Jr
Jeff Kober Deputy Sheriff Cane
LaMonica Garrett
Jax discovers a hidden manifesto written by his late father, detailing a vision for the club to move away from violent crime.
Clay is eventually stripped of his SAMCRO patch and executed by Jax following a club-mandated vote. Jax then becomes the club president.
Tara’s murder at the hands of his own mother (who stabs Tara repeatedly in the head with a barbecue fork) ultimately leads to Jax accepting that the outlaw life will inevitably destroy his family.
