Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, Sons of Anarchy follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California's Central Valley.

David Labrava, a real-life member of the Oakland chapter of Hells Angels, served as a technical adviser and also played the recurring character Happy Lowman.

Sons of Anarchy's third season attracted an average of 4.9 million weekly viewers, becoming FX's highest-rated series at the time and surpassing its other hits, The Shield, Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me.

[7][8] Each season involved parallel plot lines that intertwine and overlap, centering on both the personal and family life of Jax Teller and on SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original), the "Mother Charter" of the organization based in Charming, California.

The series begins with the destruction of a warehouse SAMCRO uses to store and assemble guns, which is their main source of income, by their rivals, the Mayans M.C.

Jax's crystal meth addicted ex-wife Wendy Case overdoses, an emergency C-section is performed, and their son Abel is delivered ten weeks prematurely.

John Teller, Jax's father and one of the founding nine members of SAMCRO, describes his trials with and hopes for the club and his concerns about its increasing lawlessness and violence.

The second season sees SAMCRO battling LOAN for control of Charming, Jax and Clay veering further apart in their individual visions for the club, and evading the ever-present threat of the ATF.

The imprisoned SAMCRO members leave the penitentiary after their 14-month stay and are met by Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt of the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department, the new law enforcement presence in Charming.

The series ends with Jax making the ultimate sacrifice to complete his part of the story of SAMCRO and fulfill his father's vision.

Jax, a new father, deals with his ex-wife Wendy Case and is reunited with his high school sweetheart, Tara Knowles, while Opie tries to return to a life of normalcy for his long-suffering wife Donna Winston.

High school friends John Teller and Piermont "Piney" Winston co-founded SAMCRO in 1967 upon returning from the Vietnam War.

[18] Some members have day jobs in local industries; most work at the Teller-Morrow garage as mechanics and assist at the club's other business ventures, such as running security or accounting at the porn studios.

SAMCRO keeps meth traffickers and drug dealers out of Charming, which puts them at odds with the meth-distributing white supremacist Nordics (Nords), headed by Ernest Darby.

Other groups in SAMCRO's orbit include the Oakland–based Chinese mafia Lin Triad, led by Henry Lin; the Italian American Cacuzza crime family; the Russian mob led by Viktor Putlova; the Real IRA (aka RIRA) of Northern Ireland, which supplies them with illegal Russian-made guns; the "One-Niners", an African American street gang to whom SAMCRO sell weapons; and various affiliates in the state prison system, where many members of the club have been incarcerated at one time or another.

The Clubhouse itself includes a living area with multiple apartments, a fully operational bar, a pool table, a kitchen; a workout room; and the "Chapel", the SAMCRO meeting room with an elaborate redwood conference table that has the club logo carved into the top, where the members meet to discuss club business and vote on major decisions.

Sutter drew regular directors from The Shield including Stephen Kay, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Guy Ferland, and Billy Gierhart.

Although Sons of Anarchy is set in Northern California's Central Valley (with some scenes in the Bay Area), it was filmed primarily at Occidental Studios Stage 5A in North Hollywood.

Brian Lowry of Variety gave a mixed review, admiring Sutter's creation of the club and the town of Charming but observing the early episodes lacked direction.

[41] Variety's Stuart Levine stated that the new season was "compelling"; he also complimented the acting skill of Perlman, Sagal, Hunnam and Siff.

The website's consensus reads: "Sons of Anarchy continues to intensify the drama with riveting storytelling brought to life by a talented ensemble.

[50] Maureen Ryan commented that the third season divided critics and fans alike, suggesting the expanded Belfast cast made it harder for the audience to invest in the characters' journeys.

[51] Ryan later questioned the credibility of Hector Salazar's story, noting that he was inferior to other villainous characters such as Stahl, Zobelle and Weston.

She praised the addition of Lincoln Potter (played by Ray McKinnon), comparing the character's quality to that of Breaking Bad's antagonist, Gustavo Fring.

The website's consensus reads: "Sons of Anarchy's fourth season is a smart return to the show's original themes, integrated with buzzworthy new elements.

The website's consensus reads: "Sons of Anarchy continues to deliver an energetic blend of bracing action sequences, pitch black humor, and heartless violence.

[109] As of May 11, 2016, a spin-off series was in the works titled Mayans M.C..[110] The pilot began shooting in March 2017, directed by Sutter from a script he co-wrote with Elgin James.

takes place two and a half years after the events of Sons of Anarchy and is set hundreds of miles away in the fictional California border town of Santo Padre.

[112] The series focuses on the struggles of Ezekiel "EZ" Reyes (portrayed by J. D. Pardo), a prospect in Mayans Motorcycle Club charter based on the U.S.-Mexico border who eventually works his way up to president of the chapter.

[113] On February 13, 2017, Edward James Olmos was attached to star as EZ's father Felipe Reyes, the family's once strong Mexican patriarch.