7 Ingenious Ways TV Shows Bounced Back From Awful Seasons
3. Sons Of Anarchy: Risking Predictability
After two solid seasons of traditional biker grit, Sons of Anarchy showrunner Kurt Sutter shook things up in season three and shifted the action to Northern Ireland in the latter half of it. This decision backfired like a poorly-maintained motorcycle.
Not only did the third season suffer from pacing issues as it built up to the trip abroad, taking the story overseas was misguided and the results were forgettable.
They say second seasons are tough, but third and fourth ones can be even tougher. By this point, the audience wants to see that the show they've invested in isn't just a one-trick pony. They want variety, reinvention and new experiences.
Sutter rose to the challenge of delivering those things, and when the Ireland-set series three bombed, some critics assumed Sons of Anarchy was a spent force, while others called for the showrunner to do something drastically creative to reinvent the show.
He was under pressure to have another stab at a fresh format, but ironically, returning to its core themes is what helped the show regain form in season four. After the Ireland excursion turned out to be a failed experiment, Sutter risked being branded with the ‘predictable’ tag by revisiting the original formula - a gamble that paid off.
Sons of Anarchy was able to send Jax and the gang along roads well-travelled because it seriously upped the stakes in season four. Much of the Sons’ upper level got out of prison after 14 months and they returned to a Charming in transition.
Smart additions to the cast, including Ray McKinnon’s intense District Attorney Lincoln Potter, amped up the conflict and the relationship between Jax and Clay mutated when hints that the latter had a hand in the death of the protagonist’s father emerged.
The focus also shifted towards Jax’s desire to succeed where his old man failed and break free of the club, and this cranked the stakes and drama up even further.
Many of the fixes were simple ones that were well executed, but it was Sutter’s decision to look to the past that made season four one of Sons of Anarchy’s strongest.