Talk about going out in style. For the past few months, we've been hearing about the astonishing ratings gains FX's Sons of Anarchy has seen throughout its sophomore season; something almost unprecedented in television. To cap off a great season, the 90-minute season finale set a new series high with 4.33 million viewers. How long do you think it took FX to renew it?
How about one day. FX announced that they have picked up the series about a gang of bikers for a third season of 13 episodes. They even gave it a start date. Those of us who watched that nail-biting finale are going to have to hold our breaths all the way until September 2010, when Sons of Anarchy will return and confidently face the fall lineups of the big networks. Somehow, I think it'll be fine.
Creator, executive producer, and recurring character actor Kurt Sutter finalized his deal to stay on board as showrunner for two more seasons, so the series is looking good to ride high into the next decade.
“The success of Sons of Anarchy is very gratifying and the show has become a bona-fide hit,” said FX President John Landgraf. “The critics have recognized Sons as one the best series on television, and the show has earned its place alongside FX’s great drama series The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me and Damages. Creatively, this season was spectacular and all credit goes to Kurt and the incredible cast led by Katey Sagal, Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman.”
Sutter said, “This has been a wonderful ride and we’re just getting started. I’m really proud of the work by our incredible cast and crew. The response this season from the fans and critics has been terrific and I can’t wait to get back to the writer’s room and start on season three.”
I'll back both of those statements. I was a bit on the fence through the first season of Sons, but this time around they grabbed me by the throat and refused to let go all season long. To sum up the ratings bonanza FX was surprised with, in almost every single demo tracked, Sons of Anarchy was up more than 50% over last season. Can you imagine if those figures just kept going up?
