They've kept the town free of corporate tentacles and development, partly so they can run their legal and illegal businesses free of interference (gun-running and porn), and partly because the town itself might as well be a club member.
The bikers are all natives of Charming, childhood friends in a small town. But what really sets this biker drama apart is the context. Gemma's son, Jax, played by Charlie Hunnam, butts heads with his step-father's vision for the club. And the casting! Katy Segal is phenomenal as Gemma, the widow of club founder and wife of present club runner, Clay Morrow, played by Ron Pearlman. While you will find all of the above elements, they're woven into a much richer fabric that brings each and every character to life in 16 million colors and full resolution, rising above the stereo-typical black-and-white portrayals of VGA-rendered knuckle-dragging villains.
If there's a Harley and black leathers in the shot - bad guys killing and doing bad things - their work is done. I almost didn't give this show a chance because Hollywood rarely offers up fully developed biker characters, much less decent or realistic plots about outlaw biker clubs.
