Sons of Anarchy
Did FX seriously think people would identify with a biker club selling illegal guns to gangs? Next thing you know, somebody will make a family drama about a Mafia boss! Seriously, Season 1 of SoA was a little tough to warm to, as it set up the conflict (loosely based on Hamlet) between biker boss Clay (Ron Perlman) and Jax (Charlie Hunnam), whose father used to run the eponymous gang and who believes Clay has betrayed his dad's code of honor. But Season 2 found a higher gear, deepening its supporting characters, giving the Sons a more heinous enemy in the form of a white-power gang and drawing a devastatingly powerful performance from Katey Sagal (wife of show creator Kurt Sutter) as Jax's mom and Clay's wife. In dirty alleys and on the open road, it told a finely shaded story of family and honor and left much of TV eating its dust.
(FX)