Sons of Anarchy

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

Few series have exploded onto the scene with such a rich array of potential stories and inherently interesting characters.

New York PostLinda Stasi

Every character is unique - but almost none compares in strangeness to Bobby Munson (Mark Boone, Jr.), a Jewish killer/gang member/Elvis impersonator. Yes, I love this show.

NewsdayVerne Gay

Trade press has labeled this "'Easy Rider' Meets 'The Sopranos,'" which seems apt. Show comes from Kurt Sutter, longtime co-executive producer of "The Shield" (and married to Sagal) so that should give you a sense of tone and texture - violent, taut, well written.

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

Gritty and occasionally violent, Sons was created by Kurt Sutter, an executive producer on "The Shield." As "The Shield" prepares to bow out, Sons should capably fill the smart, testosterone-fueled void.

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

I do think it has real potential to become a solid dramatic addition to the FX slate, as The Shield enters its final season.

Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin

Sons of Anarchy is bloody, disturbing and maniacally addictive.

Philadelphia InquirerDavid Hiltbrand

A shockingly good series about a motorcycle gang in the apocryphal California valley town of Charming.

LA WeeklyRobert Abele

Sons of Anarchy, an unfailingly coarse yet brashly effective series that burrows into the workings of the titular outlaw motorcycle club.

Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd

There are moments that require you not to think too hard, and some of the black humor doesn't overcome its fundamental nastiness. But on the whole, it's a superior package, intelligently constructed and handsomely executed.

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

Sutter has some interesting characters and ideas here, but the intensity isn't there yet.

The New York TimesGinia Bellafante

The show, which begins on Wednesday, is all tattoos and creased leather vests and shock-value chatter, and it isn’t half-bad.

Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith

Set as far as possible from the canyons of New York, the series has a cool, original look--despite its C-movie moments when burly guys in black jackets zoom down the highway to the accompaniment of country metal rock.

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

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.

Kansas City StarAaron Barnhart

It will take awhile to figure out whether Sons of Anarchy was worth the investment of our time.

TV GuideMatt Roush

Well-made, but heavy-handed and hardly inviting.

VarietyBrian Lowry

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.

Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray

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.

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

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.

Hollywood ReporterRay Richmond

Sutter packs the early episodes with colorful dialogue but at the same time so much random violence that it crosses the line to gratuitous.

SalonHeather Havrilesky

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.

Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker

Hunnam broods magnetically, but there aren't enough reasons to ride along on this incredibly bleak journey.

USA TodayRobert Bianco

Sons wants us to care about their hopes and struggles, but gives no clue as to why we might do so.