The fifth season of the American

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

series ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

'' premiered on September 11, 2012, and concluded on December 4, 2012, after 13 episodes aired on

cable network Networking cables are networking hardware used to connect one network device to other network devices or to connect two or more computers to share devices such as printers or scanners. Different types of network cables, such as coaxial cable, op ...

FX. Created by

Kurt Sutter Kurt Leon Sutter (born May 5, 1960) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He worked as a producer, writer, and director on ''The Shield,'' and appeared on the show as hitman Margos Dezerian. Sutter is also the creator of ' ...

, it is about the lives of a close-knit

outlaw motorcycle club An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of Cruiser (motorcycle), cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and chopper (motorcycle), choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate fre ...

operating in Charming, a fictional town in

California's California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Central Valley. The show centers on

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

Jackson "Jax" Teller (

Charlie Hunnam Charles Matthew Hunnam (; born 10 April 1980) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Pete Dunham in ''Green Street Hooligans'' (2005) and as Jax Teller in the FX series ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2014). For the latter, he was ...

), the president of the club, who begins questioning the club and himself after the deaths of several SAMCRO members at the hand of former club president,

Clay Morrow Clarence "Clay" Morrow is a fictional character in the FX television series ''Sons of Anarchy''. He is played by Ron Perlman. Morrow is one of the original "First 9" members of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (SAMCRO), but ...

(

Ron Perlman Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–199 ...

). The premiere ("Sovereign"), directed by series executive producer and principal director

Paris Barclay Paris K. C. Barclay (born June 30, 1956) is an American television director, producer, and writer. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and is among the busiest single-camera television directors, having directed nearly 200 episodes of television ...

and written by series creator and executive producer

, was one of the highest-rated telecasts in FX's history. ''Sons of Anarchy'' is the story of the Teller-Morrow family of Charming, California, as well as other members of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (SAMCRO), their families, various Charming townspeople, allied and rival gangs, associates, and law agencies that undermine or support SAMCRO's legal and illegal enterprises.

Plot

In retaliation for the death of Veronica Pope (Laroy's girlfriend, who was also the daughter of powerful Oakland kingpin Damon Pope), the Niners attack SAMCRO and ambush a cargo shipment. With the death of Piney Winston and the growing conflict between the Niners and SAMCRO, along with several home invasions targeting people linked to the Club, Jax is forced to meet with Damon Pope, to face a new threat unlike anything SAMCRO has ever faced.

Cast and characters

''Sons of Anarchy'' is the story of the Teller-Morrow family of

Charming, California ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

, as well as the other members of Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (SAMCRO), their families, various Charming townspeople, allied and rival gangs, associates, and law agencies that undermine or support SAMCRO's legal and illegal enterprises.

Main cast

as Jackson "Jax" Teller *

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Henne ...

Gemma Teller Morrow Gemma Teller Morrow (''née'' Madock) is a fictional character on the FX television series ''Sons of Anarchy'', played by Katey Sagal. Gemma is the widow of John Teller, a founding member of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original ...

Mark Boone Junior Mark Boone Junior (born Mark Heidrich; March 17, 1955) is an American character actor, best known for his TV roles as Bobby Munson in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–14) and Patrick "Pat" Brown in '' Last Man On Earth'', and film roles in Christopher ...

as Robert "Bobby Elvis" Munson *

Dayton Callie Dayton Callie (born 1946) is an American actor, best known for playing Charlie Utter on HBO's '' Deadwood'', former Police Chief Wayne Unser on '' Sons of Anarchy'', and Jeremiah Otto on AMC's '' Fear the Walking Dead''. He has also voiced ...

Wayne Unser The following is a list of characters from ''Sons of Anarchy'', and its spin-off ''Mayans M.C.'' Both are American crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter. ''Sons of Anarchy'' aired from 2008 to 2014, ''Mayans M.C.'' since 2018. Cast ...

Kim Coates Kim F. Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian–American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and in the lead ...

as Alex "Tig" Trager *

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

as Filip "Chibs" Telford *

Ryan Hurst Ryan Douglas Hurst (born June 19, 1976) is an American actor, known for his roles as Gerry Bertier in ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), Sgt. Ernie Savage in ''We Were Soldiers'' (2002), Tom Clarke in '' Taken'' (2002), Opie Winston in the FX dram ...

as Harry "Opie" Winston *

Theo Rossi John Theodore Rossi (born June 4, 1975) is an American actor and producer. He portrayed Juan Carlos "Juice" Ortiz on the FX series ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2014) and Hernan "Shades" Alvarez in ''Luke Cage'' (2016–2018). His film roles i ...

as Juan-Carlos "Juice" Ortiz *

Maggie Siff Maggie Siff (born June 21, 1974) is an American actress. Her most notable television roles have included department store heiress Rachel Menken Katz on the AMC drama ''Mad Men'', Dr. Tara Knowles on the FX drama ''Sons of Anarchy'' for which sh ...

as Tara Knowles-Teller *

as Clarence "Clay" Morrow

Special guest cast

Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama ''L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama '' NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...

Nero Padilla Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

Rockmond Dunbar Rockmond Dunbar (born January 11, 1973) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Baines on the NBC series '' Earth 2'', Kenny Chadway on Showtime family drama ''Soul Food'', and Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin on the Fox crime drama '' ...

as Lieutenant

Eli Roosevelt The following is a list of characters from '' Sons of Anarchy'', and its spin-off '' Mayans M.C.'' Both are American crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter. ''Sons of Anarchy'' aired from 2008 to 2014, ''Mayans M.C.'' since 2018. Cas ...

Harold Perrineau Harold Perrineau (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor best known for his roles as Michael Dawson in the ABC television series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), Augustus Hill in the HBO television series '' Oz'' (1997–2003), Sheriff Boyd Stevens ...

as Damon Pope * Benito Martinez as Luis Torres *

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...

as Romero "Romeo" Parada *

Drea de Matteo Andrea Donna de Matteo is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Adriana La Cerva on the HBO television drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2006), for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a ...

Wendy Case The following is a list of characters from ''Sons of Anarchy'', and its spin-off '' Mayans M.C.'' Both are American crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter. ''Sons of Anarchy'' aired from 2008 to 2014, ''Mayans M.C.'' since 2018. Cas ...

Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the film '' The Tao of Steve'' and has had roles in the TV series ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Vikings'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Copper'', '' Terriers'', and, as Detecti ...

as Lee Toric *

Walton Goggins Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (born November 10, 1971) is an American actor. He has starred in a number of television series, including ''The Shield'' (2002–2008), '' Justified'' (2010–2015), ''Vice Principals'' (2016–2017), ''The Righteous ...

as Venus Van Dam *

Sonny Barger Ralph Hubert "Sonny" Barger, Jr. (October 8, 1938 – June 29, 2022) was an American outlaw biker, author and actor who was a founding member of the Oakland, California chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in 1957. After forming the O ...

as Lenny "The Pimp" Janowitz

Recurring cast

* David LaBrava as

Happy Lowman The following is a list of characters from ''Sons of Anarchy'', and its spin-off ''Mayans M.C.'' Both are American crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter. ''Sons of Anarchy'' aired from 2008 to 2014, ''Mayans M.C.'' since 2018. Cast ...

* Christopher Douglas Reed as Philip "Filthy Phil" Russell *

Chuck Zito Charles Alfred Zito Jr. (born March 1, 1953) is an American actor and boxer who is the former president of the New York chapter of the Hells Angels, and later became an actor. Early life Zito was born in New York, the second of three children o ...

as Frankie Diamonds *

Michael Marisi Ornstein Michael Marisi Ornstein (born 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Chucky Marstein on Sons of Anarchy 2008–2014) and its spin-off ''Mayans M.C. (2019-present). Early life Ornstein studied acting as a child a ...

as Chuck Marstein *

Winter Ave Zoli Winter Ave Zoli (born June 28, 1980) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Lyla Winston in FX's TV series '' Sons of Anarchy'', Amy Snyder in '' Bosch'' (2017-2018), and for '' Deserted'' (2016). Zoli also appears ...

as Lyla Winston *

Chris Browning Christopher Jay Browning (born March 8, 1964) is an American television and film actor, known for film work and character roles. Career Browning began his acting career in 1987, at age 22 or 23, with a sitcom television series. Due to his drug ...

as GoGo *

Kurt Yaeger Kurt Yaeger (born January 3, 1977) is an American actor, director and professional athlete, who is also a below-the-knee amputee. Recent work includes roles on the CBS series '' NCIS'' and the HBO/Cinemax series ''Quarry''. Kurt is notable fo ...

as Greg "The Peg" *

Wanda De Jesus Wanda De Jesus (born August 26, 1958) is an American actress. She was the fourth actress to portray Santana Andrade in NBC's soap opera '' Santa Barbara''. Aside from her work on soap operas, De Jesus appeared in several TV shows in a guest sta ...

as Carla * Niko Nicotera as George "Rat Boy" Skogstorm * Billy Brown as August Marks * Reynaldo Gallegos as Fiasco * McNally Sagal as Margaret Murphy *

as "Big" Otto Delaney *

Robin Weigert Robin Weigert (born July 7, 1969) is an American television and film actress. She is best known for portraying Calamity Jane on the television series '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award f ...

as Ally Lowen * Walter Wong as Chris "V-Lin" Von Lin *

Merle Dandridge Merle Dandridge (born May 31, 1975) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for performing in Broadway musicals such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', ''Spamalot'', ''Rent'', and ''Once on This Island'', as well as her video game roles ...

as Rita Roosevelt *

Jeff Kober Jeff Kober (born December 18, 1953) is an American actor, known for his television roles as Dodger in ''China Beach'', Jacob Hale Jr. in ''Sons of Anarchy'', and Joe in the fourth season of '' The Walking Dead''. He is also known his movie role ...

as Jacob Hale Jr. * Timothy V. Murphy as Galen O'Shay *

Kenneth Choi Kenneth Choi (born October 20, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for playing Henry Lin on the television series ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2014), Chester Ming in Martin Scorsese's '' The Wolf of Wall Street'' (2013), and Judge Lance It ...

as Henry Lin *

Emilio Rivera Emilio Rivera (born February 24, 1961) is an American film and television actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for his portrayal of Marcus Álvarez in ''Sons of Anarchy'' and its spin-off, '' Mayans M.C.'' He is also known for his dep ...

as Marcus Alvarez *

Kristen Renton Kristen Louise Renton (born September 14, 1982) is an American actress who had a recurring role as Ima Tite on ''Sons of Anarchy'' and also portrayed Morgan Hollingsworth on NBC's soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. Personal life Renton moved fr ...

as Ima *

Michael Beach Michael Anthony Beach (born October 30, 1963) is an American actor. He has appeared in films '' Lean on Me'' (1989), ''One False Move'' (1992), ''Short Cuts'' (1993), ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995), ''A Family Thing'' (1996), ''Soul Food'' (1997), ...

as T.O. Cross

Guest stars

Rachel Miner Rachel Anne Miner is an American actress. She first came to prominence for her portrayal of Michelle Bauer on the television soap opera ''Guiding Light'' (1990–95). She made her film debut in Woody Allen's ''Alice'' (1990), and later earned cr ...

as Dawn Trager *

Ashley Tisdale Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles in television and theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatr ...

as Emma Jean *

Joel McHale Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015). He has performed i ...

as Warren *

Dave Navarro David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Between 1993 and 1998, Navarro was the guitarist of the Red Hot Ch ...

as Arcadio Nerona * Mo McRae as Tyler Yost *

Marshall Allman Marshall Scot Allman (born April 5, 1984) is an American actor. He is known to television audiences for his role as L. J. Burrows on the Fox television series '' Prison Break''. He is also known for playing Tommy Mickens on ''True Blood''. Earl ...

as Devin Price *

Olivia Burnette Olivia Burnette (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress who began her career as a child actress at the age of six. She is perhaps best known for her role in the NBC sitcom ''The Torkelsons'' (1991–1993), Homeless Woman in ''Sons of Anarc ...

as Homeless Woman

Production

Although ''Sons of Anarchy'' is set in Northern California's Central Valley, it is filmed primarily at Occidental Studios Stage 5A in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

. 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. On his ''Sons of Anarchy''

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel Sutterinksoa, Kurt Sutter has stated that he began writing scripts for season 5, episodes one and two as early as March 1, 2012. It was also announced that

would be joining the ''Sons'' cast as a Nomad traveling through Charming. Another announced cast addition for season five is

. Smits, known for his work in ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

'' and '' Dexter'', will play an

escort service An escort agency is a company that provides escorts for clients, usually for sexual services. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room (outcall), or at the escort' ...

owner and former Latino gang member who becomes a mentor to Jax.

joined the cast in May as the villain Damon Pope. With

Dave Erickson Dave Erickson is an American television writer and producer best known for co-creating '' Fear the Walking Dead'' with Robert Kirkman, for which he was showrunner until the end of the third season; he stepped down in order to make more shows for ...

's departure, Kurt Sutter remained the only writer to have been writing the series since the first season.

Episodes

Reception

Season five received favourable reviews and has a rating of 72 on the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

site

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. Review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

has an approval rating of 83% based on 23 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "Still dangerous and proud of it, ''Sons of Anarchy'' builds upon its ferocious attitude with impressive finesse." Ken Tucker of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' praised the series by calling it a "richly detailed portrait of self-righteous villainy".

Home media release

The fifth season was released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

on August 27, 2013.

References

External links

''Sons of Anarchy''
at FXNetworks.com * {{Sons of Anarchy 2012 American television seasons