Aside from baseball and apple pie, is there anything more American than a motorcycle gang? I bet they don’t even exist in other countries. Can you even picture a Canadian motorcycle gang? Few movies or shows captured the intensity of these tough-as-nails clubs like the one that ran on FX for seven season. Here’s why Playboy model Black Barbie loves Sons of Anarchy.
Sons of Anarchy
- Released: September 3, 2008 – December 9, 2014
- Network: FX
- Genre: Drama, Neo-noir, action
- Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Katie Segal, Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates, Tommy Flanagan, Johnny Lewis, Maggie Siff, Ron Perlman, Ryan Hurst, William Lucking, Theo Rossi, Dayton Callie, Jimmy Smits, Drea de Mateo, David Labrava, Niko Nicotera
- Seasons: 7
- Episodes: 92
Why Black Barbie Loves Sons of Anarchy
“The characters are intense,” Black Barbie told Playboy. “There was tons of character development. I didn’t love all the slurs at first, but once you get past it there are some memorable stories, with memorable characters.”
Sons of Anarchy, like Hamlet, is a family tragedy. Instead of the rotten state of Denmark, the show takes place in the fictional Northern California town of Charming. And instead of spats about a royal throne, the conflict is all about a motorcycle club conducting a myriad of illegal enterprises. It’s the sort of raw, anti-hero stuff seen in prestige TV dramas like The Sopranos, The Wire, and The Shield.
The vibes are incredibly similar to that last one, considering the show was developed by The Shield writer Kurt Sutter. From its inception, Sons of Anarchy was lauded for its immersive, gritty feel that felt—for the lack of a better word—real. The show famously hired real-life Hells Angels members to consult for the show, revealing the seedier side of the wide world of motorcycle clubs.
While Black Barbie relates to the series protagonist Jax Teller, Katie Segal’s portrayal of his mother Gemma Teller Morrow is easily the show’s most memorable.
“She’s a Mama Bear,” Black Barbie says. “She is crazy, maybe even psychotic. But everything that she did was out of love.”
Black Barbie is on The Playboy Club. Talk to her now.
