Sons of Anarchy
- Synopsis
- 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 Northern California. Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the show focuses on protagonist Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the Vice President of the club who begins questioning the club and himself. His uncle, gang leader and patriarch Clay (Ron Perlman) seems to be modelled on King Claudius while Katey Sagal’s Gemma (previously married to Clay’s now dead brother) is set up as a Gertrude figure (with some Lady Macbeth thrown in for good measure). Jax stands in for Prince Hamlet himself. Jax’s reflective questioning of the SOA culture, brought on by the birth of his son, references Hamlet’s melancholy over the death of the king. Additionally, Jax ‘communicates’ with his dead father by way of his late father’s unpublished journal/manuscript. Creator 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."
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_Anarchy, accessed 6/2010) - Series
- Sons of Anarchy
- Language
- English (United States)
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Television
- Transmission details
- 3 Sep 2008 (Channel: FX)
- Duration
- 45 mins
Credits
- Director
- Bill Gierhart; Guy Ferland; Gwyneth Horder-Payton; Kurt Sutter; Paris Barclay; Stephen K. Kay; Terence O’Hara
- Producer
- Art Linson; James D. Parriott; John Linson; Kurt Sutter
- Cinematographer
- Paul Mailbaum
- Writer
- Brett Conrad; Chris Collins; Dave Erickson; Jack LoGuidice; Kurt Sutter; Pat Charles
- Editor
- Huinter M. Via; Jacques Gravett; Jordan Goldman
- Music
- Bob Jr. Thiele
- Production Design
- Anthony Medina
- Costume
- Kelly Jones
- Art Direction
- Lori Agostino; William Eliscu
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Television and Radio Drama
- Plays
- Hamlet
- Keywords
- motorcycles; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); gangs
Notes
- Notes
- Duration given represents the running time of each episode. Season 1 and 2 have been commercially released on DVD and are available through retail outlets.
- General
- Sutter has hinted that he plans a five-year run for the series, with each of the five seasons mirroring the corresponding act in Hamlet.
- History
- The TV series premiered on the subscription network FX on September 3, 2008.
The show’s first season averaged 5.4 million viewers while
the series’ second season finale, "Na Triobloidi," was watched by 4.33 million total viewers alone. With those numbers, the show secured the crown for the top scripted drama series during the season’s 13-week run in the Tuesday 10 p.m. timeslot in average delivery of the Men 18-49 demo (See http://www.tvsquad.com/category/sons-of-anarchy/, accessed 6/2010). - Reviews
- Source: IMDb, http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/(official website)
Review: Sergio Angelini, ‘Sons of Anarchy - Season 1’ , Sight and Sound: The International Film Magazine, Vol. 20, Issue 5 (May 2010), p. 98.
For a full cast and crew list covering all episodes see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124373/ (accessed 6/2010).
Production Company
- Name
Fox 21
- Notes
- Fox 21 is a reality television production arm of Twentieth Century Fox.
- Name
FX Newtworks
- Web
- http://www.fxnetworks.com/ External site opens in new window
Distributor (DVD)
- Name
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
- Web
- http://www.fox.co.uk/ External site opens in new window
- Phone
- 020 7753 8686
- Fax
- 020 7437 1625
- Address
- Twentieth Century House
31-32 Soho Square
London
W1D 3AP - Notes
- Feature films from Fox and MGM for sale on DVD and Blu-ray via retail outlets.
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Sons of Anarchy". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av72687 (Accessed 11 Oct 2024)