Sons of Anarchy season 5

The fifth season of the American television drama series Sons of Anarchy premiered on September 11, 2012, and concluded on December 4, 2012, after 13 episodes aired on cable network FX. Created by Kurt Sutter, it is about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California's Central Valley. The show centers on protagonist Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam), 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 (Ron Perlman).

The premiere ("Sovereign"), directed by series executive producer and principal director Paris Barclay and written by series creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter, 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, 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

 * Charlie Hunnam as Jackson "Jax" Teller
 * Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow
 * Mark Boone Junior as Robert "Bobby Elvis" Munson
 * Dayton Callie as Wayne Unser
 * Kim Coates as Alex "Tig" Trager
 * Tommy Flanagan as Filip "Chibs" Telford
 * Ryan Hurst as Harry "Opie" Winston
 * Theo Rossi as Juan-Carlos "Juice" Ortiz
 * Maggie Siff as Tara Knowles-Teller
 * Ron Perlman as Clarence "Clay" Morrow

Special guest cast

 * Jimmy Smits as Nero Padilla
 * Rockmond Dunbar as Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt
 * Harold Perrineau as Damon Pope
 * Benito Martinez as Luis Torres
 * Danny Trejo as Romero "Romeo" Parada
 * Drea de Matteo as Wendy Case
 * Donal Logue as Lee Toric
 * Walton Goggins as Venus Van Dam
 * Sonny Barger as Lenny "The Pimp" Janowitz

Recurring cast

 * David LaBrava as Happy Lowman
 * Christopher Douglas Reed as Philip "Filthy Phil" Russell
 * Chuck Zito as Frankie Diamonds
 * Michael Marisi Ornstein as Chuck Marstein
 * Winter Ave Zoli as Lyla Winston
 * Chris Browning as GoGo
 * Kurt Yaeger as Greg "The Peg"
 * Wanda De Jesus as Carla
 * Niko Nicotera as George "Rat Boy" Skogstorm
 * Billy Brown as August Marks
 * Reynaldo Gallegos as Fiasco
 * McNally Sagal as Margaret Murphy
 * Kurt Sutter as "Big" Otto Delaney
 * Robin Weigert as Ally Lowen
 * Walter Wong as Chris "V-Lin" Von Lin
 * Merle Dandridge as Rita Roosevelt
 * Jeff Kober as Jacob Hale Jr.
 * Timothy V. Murphy as Galen O'Shay
 * Kenneth Choi as Henry Lin
 * Emilio Rivera as Marcus Alvarez
 * Kristen Renton as Ima
 * Michael Beach as T.O. Cross

Guest stars

 * Rachel Miner as Dawn Trager
 * Ashley Tisdale as Emma Jean
 * Joel McHale as Warren
 * Dave Navarro as Arcadio Nerona
 * Mo McRae as Tyler Yost
 * Marshall Allman as Devin Price
 * Olivia Burnette 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. 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 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 Chuck Zito would be joining the Sons cast as a Nomad traveling through Charming. Another announced cast addition for season five is Jimmy Smits. Smits, known for his work in L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, The West Wing and Dexter, will play an escort service owner and former Latino gang member who becomes a mentor to Jax. Harold Perrineau joined the cast in May as the villain Damon Pope.

Reception
Season five received favourable reviews and has a rating of 72 on the review aggregator site Metacritic. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes 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 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 on DVD and Blu-ray on August 27, 2013.