Animal Kingdom vs Sons of Anarchy: Why These Crime Families Feel Like Long-Lost Cousins

I don’t know how I missed it at first. The first few episodes of Animal Kingdom were giving beach-town crime vibes, sure, but nothing that screamed Sons of Anarchy.

But then? Something started clicking.

The twisted family power dynamics. The way every character walks around with a secret and a smirk. That constant push-pull between loyalty and self-preservation. Oh… we’re not just surfing here, we’re spiraling.

And suddenly, I couldn’t unsee it.

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Coming from SAMCRO

I watched Sons of Anarchy when it aired. The chaos, the betrayals, the emotional gut punches, Gemma being Gemma. I even kept up with Mayans M.C. because clearly I’m not above going back for more biker trauma.

So when I finally hit play on Animal Kingdom this year (thank you, Netflix), I wasn’t expecting to get hit with that same “family is everything until it’s not” energy.

But I did. Hard.

And now that I’ve binged straight through to the end of Season 3, I can confidently say: Animal Kingdom is basically the West Coast surf-gang cousin of Sons of Anarchy. Same dysfunction, different aesthetic.

What Made It Click

At first, it was the vibe. Not the crimes, they’re different enough on the surface. SAMCRO runs guns. The Codys pull heists and knock off jewelry stores like it’s a Tuesday.

But the feeling underneath? The tension, the toxic loyalty, the sense that any moment could be the one where the whole thing implodes?

That’s Sons of Anarchy DNA all over.

Then there’s the matriarchs. Gemma Teller and Janine “Smurf” Cody are very different women, but they both have that iron grip on their families, emotionally, psychologically, sometimes even physically. They both use love as a weapon. And they both leave behind a trail of destruction so thick you could build a highway through it.

Animal Kingdom vs Sons of Anarchy

Coming to Animal Kingdom after Sons is like going from whiskey to mezcal. Same burn, different smoke. I found myself constantly comparing Jax Teller and Joshua Cody, two men born into violence, both trying to figure out whether they should follow the path laid out for them or burn it down entirely.

Jax intellectualizes everything. He writes in journals. He stares moodily into the distance. J is colder, quieter, harder to read, and honestly? That makes him even scarier. He’s like if Jax swallowed his emotions instead of trying to write them into poetry.

And don’t even get me started on Pope. That man gives every single character from Sons a run for their money in the “most unhinged but somehow still tragic” category.

The Internet’s Been Saying It, Too

After binging three seasons in a week and a half (no judgment, please), I went digging to see if anyone else saw the similarities or was I just crazy. And yep, Reddit’s been talking. Screen Rant called Animal Kingdom the “perfect replacement” for Sons of Anarchy. People have even fantasized about crossovers between the Cody crew and SAMCRO, which… honestly? I’d watch the hell out of that.

But binge watching, now years apart, gives the comparison weight. It’s not just plot points or gritty aesthetics, it’s the emotional vibe of both shows that mirrors each other. That sense that everyone is trapped by family, haunted by legacy, and probably gonna die because of both.

Final Thoughts: Pick Your Poison

If you loved Sons of Anarchy but haven’t tried Animal Kingdom, I highly recommend jumping in. You’re in for messy, manipulative characters, morally grey choices, and at least one scene per episode that makes you yell “OH NO THEY DIDN’T.”

But if that’s your flavor of fiction (it’s definitely mine), the Codys will keep you hooked. Just maybe don’t trust anyone.

I’ll be over here finishing Season 4 and mentally preparing for everything to get worse.

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