Sons of Anarchy came to an end after seven intense seasons, but why did it end? Created by Kurt Sutter, Sons of Anarchy was an action crime drama TV series that made its debut on FX in 2008, coming to an end in 2014. Sons of Anarchy explored various themes, mostly vigilantism, corruption, and racism, all through an outlaw motorcycle club with a lot of issues both among its members and with other clubs and associations outside their group.

Sons of Anarchy followed the journey of Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), V.P of the motorcycle club Sons of Anarchy and son of one of its founding members, John Teller. The events of the series are kickstarted when Jax finds a manifesto written by his late father, which leads him to question the club’s goals and path, his relationships, and himself. Sons of Anarchy was generally well-received, with praise mostly directed at Sutter’s writing, the pacing of the stories, and the performances of the main cast, particularly that of Katey Sagal, who played Jax’s mother, Gemma Teller-Morrow. The series was consistent in its story, tone, pace, and performances, which earned it the praise of critics and viewers – so why did it end after seven seasons?

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Over the course of the series, viewers watched Jax Teller go from V.P. of the Sons of Anarchy with bigger and better plans for the M.C, through which he would take the group away from dealing weapons and thus a violent lifestyle, to President of the club constantly looking for revenge, especially after losing his best friend and later his wife. In 2012, THR shared Sons of Anarchy had been renewed through season six, with Kurt Sutter inking a three-year overall deal with Twentieth Century Fox TV and FX Productions, which among other things allowed him to plan the series’ future the way he wanted to, rather than depending on Nielsen ratings. As pointed out by THR, it was this freedom that allowed Sutter to build a coherent series from beginning to end, and while Sutter was open to continuing for longer if the story allowed it, it seems like he had planned for Sons of Anarchy to end with season 7.

Charlie Hunnam as Jax Teller on the phone in Sons of Anarchy

Sutter told THR that a part of him saw a possibility for the story of Sons of Anarchy to be told in seven seasons, but he didn’t want to close himself to the idea of seven seasons and nothing more. Sutter noted he was aware that the costs of making a TV show began to exceed the profit value of a show after seven seasons, so it’s possible that that’s what Sutter had in mind from the beginning, and so he carefully planned Jax’s story in a way that it could be fully told in seven seasons. Sons of Anarchy, then, wasn’t canceled – it simply followed its course and Sutter told the story he wanted to tell, for as long as he needed to.

Seven seasons was enough for viewers to see the journey of not only Jax but also other members of SAMCRO and people close to the club as well, most notably Clay Morrow, Alex “Tig” Trager, Filip “Chibs” Telford, Harry “Opie” Winston, Tara Knowles, and Gemma, who by the end of their arcs definitely weren’t the same people viewers met in season 1. Sons of Anarchy brought closure to the arcs of its main characters and left the future of others open, and while the fates of many characters weren’t what many would have liked (as was the case of Opie), they added a lot of drama and tension to the show.

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