Sons of Anarchy

:

Season 1
  • Network: FX
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 3, 2008
Season #: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
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Critic Reviews

  1. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    60
    Well-made, but heavy-handed and hardly inviting.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    60
    Working with directors Allen Coulter and Michael Dinner, Sutter does bring a visceral quality to the violence, while detailing the club's code and commitment to functioning as an extended family; there's just so little dimension to the characters early on that it's difficult to care.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    60
    For all its ferocity, and despite some excellent supporting performances, there’s a curious hole at the center of Sons of Anarchy. The character we’re supposed to be most interested in is something of a blank slate.
  5. Kansas City Star
    Reviewed by: Aaron Barnhart
    60
    It will take awhile to figure out whether Sons of Anarchy was worth the investment of our time.
  6. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    60
    A complex and well-built drama that leaves the viewer wondering if there's enough humanity here to make the hard-boiled stories worth following.
  7. Philadelphia Daily News
    Reviewed by: Ellen Gray
    60
    It might all have been a bit lifeless, had not Sutter, a writer on "The Shield"--which has so far kept its own tragic hero from speaking in blank verse--not cast his wife, Katey Sagal, as Jax's mother, Gemma.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Richmond
    50
    Sutter packs the early episodes with colorful dialogue but at the same time so much random violence that it crosses the line to gratuitous.
  9. Salon
    Reviewed by: Heather Havrilesky
    50
    Creator Kurt Sutter, a longtime writer for "The Shield," has said that he wanted to create a West coast version of "The Sopranos," but the world he created sometimes feels like "The Sopranos" without any discernible moral compass.
  10. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Hal Boedeker
    40
    Hunnam broods magnetically, but there aren't enough reasons to ride along on this incredibly bleak journey.

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Best TV Season of 2008
4
#4 Most Discussed TV Season of 2008
2
#2 Most Shared TV Season of 2008

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 577 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 512 out of 577
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 577
  3. Negative: 41 out of 577
  1. JennetP.
    Nov 5, 2008
    10
    One of the few shows that pose moral questions, instead of illustrating moral certainties. (Note to USA Today: those of us who aren't One of the few shows that pose moral questions, instead of illustrating moral certainties. (Note to USA Today: those of us who aren't lost don't need a compass.) And though it may not replicate every last detail of the MC lifestyle, SOA absolutely nails the outlaw spirit that animates many American subcultures. Individual characters are beautifully drawn, each distinctive yet archetypal, the product of writers, actors, and directors at the top of their game. But, as good as they are individually (Katey, dust off that award shelf, your Golden Globe is finally on its way!), collectively they are even better. There is genius in the casting of this show, so much that, when characters claim that separation from SAMCRO would be worse than death, the sentiment seems perfectly reasonable, even self-evident. My favorite new show, hands down.… Full Review »
  2. wizard5353
    May 15, 2014
    3
    The cast is great but the plot lines are terrible. Each episode sees characters doing stupid unrealistic things that make no sense at all.The cast is great but the plot lines are terrible. Each episode sees characters doing stupid unrealistic things that make no sense at all. They get in to a new mess at every turn and you just find yourself shouting at the screen: "Why would you do that!?!?!" They are meant to be a hard core biker gang, yet they keep letting enemies live when they have them at gun point only to get shot in the back by the same enemies in the next scene. No one seems to learn! It's enraging and aimed at brainless soap opera fans who just have to have something to watch regardless of if it makes any sense!

    I’m giving it 3 stars just because I think the cast is great. Nothing else about this program is.    … Full Review »
  3. ADV87
    Jul 11, 2013
    0
    After struggling through season 1, we really wanted to like this show but time and time again watching it became more of a chore than anythingAfter struggling through season 1, we really wanted to like this show but time and time again watching it became more of a chore than anything else.
    Unlike many current shows I enjoy watching, Sons of Anarchy assumes the viewer does not have a brain. Nothing actually happens in this show and when it does, it is so brief that if you blink you might miss it. Even if you don’t miss it, I wonder what the point of it was anyways because it adds no real value to the story.
    All we see is a bunch of guys hanging out, drinking, cheating on their wives and shooting guns. From time to time they go on these “missions” which are forgotten about in the next episode and have very little significance.

    I tried very hard to care about the characters but I cannot. They are so two dimensional that I just could not care less. Maybe I do not understand the way of life of being in a biker gang, but I thought that a show like this was supposed to educate you on a way of life different than your own. It tries to I guess but it struggles and miserably fails.

    If you enjoy brainless TV then this show might be for you because to enjoy it, you literally have to shut off your brain and prepare yourself for the garbage. But if you actually enjoy shows that make you think, that have character development and that ties together a cohesive story outside of sitting around the living room drinking beer then I suggest you do not waste your time.    … Full Review »
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