Sons of Anarchy
Tuesdays at 9 p.m.
FX

Though I came late to the “Sons of Anarchy” party, catching up over the summer via reruns and Netflix, this reporter is now a devoted fan of FX’s biker juggernaut. Conceived and largely written by Kurt Sutter (who cut his teeth on “The Shield”), “Sons” is back as of last week for its fourth season, and if the premiere episode is any judge, it’s going to be a hell of a good time, pushing the moral boundaries of the characters (and, through them, the audience) even more. Week to week, the show has been some of the best TV going, with great subplots and overarching series mythology, not to mention a truly excellent ensemble cast headed by Ron Perlman as “Sons” king Clay Morrow and Charlie Hunnam as his troubled stepson and second-in-command Jax Teller. With the season three finale seeing both major villains in the show taking a much-deserved dirt nap and the Sons off to spend 14 months in jail, season four finds them emerging from prison and on to other foes. Shaping up to be chief among those foes is a face many will recognize: the always-entertaining Ray McKinnon, who calls Little Rock home. McKinnon co-stars as Assistant U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter, an eccentric G-Man spearheading a campaign to tie the SOA to an international network of organized crime so as to bring the full force of the gubmint down on their heads. He’s a slippery sumbitch from what we’ve seen so far, and clearly crooked as a snake (how do we know that for sure? Because, on a show full of Harleys, he rides a British Triumph). In short: If you haven’t seen the show, catch seasons one and two of “Sons” on Netflix Instant to get up to speed, order season three through Netflix by mail, and then climb on for season four. It looks to be an e-ticket ride.

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48 Hours: West Memphis 3 Freed
9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17
CBS

While even hardcore supporters of the West Memphis Three might be suffering from WM3 fatigue given the wall-to-wall coverage of the story since their release from prison on Aug. 19, there’s still a few, crucial voices we haven’t heard much from: Jessie Misskelley, Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols themselves. The thought of spending 18 years in a box and suddenly being told you’re free has got to be an amazing experience, equal parts joy and terror. After all, for half their lives, they have been told by others when to eat, when to sleep, when to speak and how to dress. For half their lives, and all their adult lives, they’ve known no other home but prison. Here, CBS’ “48 Hours Mystery,” which took a hard look at the West Memphis Three case last year (including a rare interview with Johnny Depp about his support of the WM3), revisits the case, post-release. Hard to tell from the CBS news trailer what will be included, but this episode for-sure includes the first post-prison television interview with Damien Echols. Hopefully, Baldwin and Misskelley will get to have their say as well.

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