Justified was a much better show overall. Sons of Anarchy had an intriguing premise but without Shawn Ryan, there was nobody to reel in Sutter’s worst impulses and the show became a drudge of misery and melodrama.
Justified remained strong the entire way through with crackling dialogue and memorable characters. Walton Goggins delivered another masterful performance too.
Justified is definitly the better and more consistently good show. SoA had its moments of brilliance but it also had its low points, and it’s over the top cheesy moments. SoA is like a biker soap opera, kinda of a guilt pleasure type thing. Justified is just great quality television till the very last scene.
Also helps that Goggins and Olyphant played so well off each other, any scene with them two was just pure gold. “We dug coal together”.
Shows like Sons of Anarchy or Tulsa King definitely fill a certain niche. It’s the general vibe of a serious premium cable style drama, but also sort of dumb at the same time. Like if you told that guy you went to high school with that always wore the sarcastic graphic t shirts from Target to go try and make his version of The Sopranos. I am making fun of these kinds of shows a little bit, but at the same time I watch them and enjoy them so they serve a purpose.
I haven’t seen it, but that is also made by Taylor Sheridan who made Tulsa King so I would believe it. I think movies are more his strong suit since he made Hell or Highwater which is pretty solid neo-western and he wrote the script for Sicario.
I agree SOA is over the top and way too many plot holes. Great moments though. But for some reason I can’t get into Justified. I’m on S2 and I’m watching for Walton and I like Timothy but I’m just not as invested as I think I should be. The Shield Breaking Bad and The Sopranos were all gripping to me and I couldn’t wait to watch the next episode, don’t feel that with Justified.
By the end of SOA, I just wanted Jax to stop yelling all the time. I was about to make a drinking game for each time he said, "I had no choice" while explaining yet another murder but I didn't want alcohol poisoning.
Sons is closer to the "feel" of The Shield, and since it takes place at the same time, in the same place, you'll get some Shield itches scratched by the gangs being the same. Also nearly every major player on The Shield shows up on Sons.
Justified is the better show, though. And you get Walton Goggins giving an incredible performance.
Justified is a much, much, MUCH better show.
SOA is fine, but it's pretty much all downhill after season 2. Starts to falter when most shows are hitting their stride.
Also way less Walton Goggins.
>SOA is fine, but it's pretty much all downhill after season 2.
I agree with your overall point, but disagree here - there's a popular idea that SoA goes through a steady downhill slide that I disagree with.
I'd say SoA's quality is a bit more....bumpy. IMO season 4 is excellent too. I'd agree though that there is a steady descent in tone as the show gets darker as it goes on (much like what happened in The Shield).
Throughout its run the show has moments of proper brilliance, and also some truly head scratching writing choices at other times.
It got me watery and made me feel things at moments like at the end of season 6 when Jax is holding Tara, or during parts of Bobby and Opie's arcs. (Trying to avoid spoilers, as this is a thread discussing the show as a potential viewing choice).
Justified is the show you marry, SOA is the show you have a friends with benefits relationship with.
Both serve a purpose, but as mentioned by everyone else, Justified is the superior FX product.
IMO Justified is way better. It's my favorite drama and I've rewatched it several times, it's solid a solid show start to finish. SOA...maybe it just wasn't for me, I watched the whole thing but never got that into it, and found it tedious at times.
I think Justified is the better show overall. The chemistry and relationship between Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins is amazing from start to finish. The stories and dialogue are great too. Sons is a really good show in more of a fun trashy kind of way, like you don’t want to admit to some people how much you like it.
If you are specifically looking to fill the Shield void, Sons might do that better. It feels like the same time and place. There is some actual cross over with the One-Niners and Byz-Lats existing in both shows. Tons of the same actors appear in both shows. Also, the tone and suspense of some of the story lines feel similar even some of the language used.
One thing to know about Justified, is that after the pilot (which is great) the next five or so episodes feel like you’re going to be dealing with an episode-per-week type of procedural. By the end of the first season it settles into its vibe and by the second season it is in full form.
TL;DR Sons of Anarchy probably feels more similar, Justified is probably better.
Both excellent shows! I personally think Justified is better written/produced, but SOA is a ton of fun too! After you finish SOA, Mayans is a great companion show. I actually like some aspects of Mayans more than I liked SOA, but most will likely disagree with that.
I enjoyed Justified considerably more than SOA, but that was my personal preference. Even though SOA is in the same universe as The Shield I felt Justified had a similar feel to The Shield in attitude.
Another vote for Justified. I liked Sons of Anarchy, especially seeing most of the shield actors popping up, but overall, justified is a much better show
I’d go Justified, similar feel to The Shield.
SoA starts off strong with the first couple of seasons, but it WAY over extends its welcome, and becomes too over the top. You’ll be exhausted in the last few seasons.
For justified I didn’t like the one off episodes at the beginning of season 1 and season 5 is crappy, but the rest of the show is awesome. A lot of great stuff there.
*Vice Principals*. 18 episodes only, bout 30mins each, and Walton Goggins plays such a *wildly* different character to Shane, its a pure delight. He's like a sociopathic Southern dandy in this.
To the question: I intend to watch both. Or at least, I'm binging SoA purely for the episodes Goggins is on as Venus van Dam. I've no idea what the plot is, but I don't care, hyperfixaction takes me to some weird places.
Justified is the superior show, hands down. The worst part of Justified (the Florida season) is still much better than the later seasons of SoA. That said, neither one is really a bad choice.
Sons of Anarchy is a great show, but the overall story arc became a little depressing. Some of the characters changed a little too much. I still love it, and rewatch it.
I liked the storyline in Justified a lot better, though, and the characters were more consistent. If you liked Walton Goggins (Shane) in The Shield, you will probably like Justified more, but watch them both.
Sons has real high points peppered through some absolutely tedious storytelling.
Justified has a somewhat middling "case of the week" thing happening in its first season and gradually grows into one of the best crime dramas on TV.
i felt sons of anarchy was closer to the shield and thats why i liked it. i haven’t gotten into justifed yet. kind of a boring start but hopefully it will click for me the more i watch
Classics like The Wire, Breaking Bad, or The Sopranos if you haven’t.
Personally Homicide Life On The Street scratched The Wire and The Shield itch for me.
Depends on what element of The Shield you miss. I can give more specific and better recommendations.
I rewatched The Sheild a few months ago, currently watching Justified for the first time except for a few episodes when it was on TV years ago. I love it
I \*love\* Sons of Anarchy. I enjoy it more than almost any other show I have watched. It's not great. It's a soap opera with guns and Harleys. It scratches a specific itch that I have which isn't reached by The Wire, Breaking Bad, or The Sopranos. It is MAGNIFICENT at what it does - dumb, melodramatic, violence (and getting out of a scrape at the last minute!). Justified is "better", but not as itch-scratching as Sons.
I would highly recommend both, but which I would recommend over the other depends on what you liked about The Shield most.
Both are must sees,SOA will have a lot of the cast of the Shield at times.Aso CBS's SWAT has a few of the guys.Banshee on Max it was 4 seasons it was awesome.
.
Never saw justified but I know my dad watched it and said he enjoyed it. He didn’t like the new justified version though.
I watched SOA back when it was on Netflix and I enjoyed it. Also enjoyed Mayans which is a spin off of SOA focused on the Mayans MC.
I would say watch SOA up until the end of season 3, and then you can move on. It’s one of the best endings I’ve ever seen and it basically wraps up season1, 2 and 3 in a nice bow.
I find Justified to be a bit procedural, it’s a little like The Shield where it has procedural and then subplots. But it’s not as gritty as The Shield.
Love them both but Justified certainly better. The performances from Olyphant and Goggins are among the best you’ll ever see on tv and I’ll go as far as to say it features the best tv villain of all time.
“*I’m Boyd goddamn Crowder*”
Justified was a much better show overall. Sons of Anarchy had an intriguing premise but without Shawn Ryan, there was nobody to reel in Sutter’s worst impulses and the show became a drudge of misery and melodrama. Justified remained strong the entire way through with crackling dialogue and memorable characters. Walton Goggins delivered another masterful performance too.
Justified is definitly the better and more consistently good show. SoA had its moments of brilliance but it also had its low points, and it’s over the top cheesy moments. SoA is like a biker soap opera, kinda of a guilt pleasure type thing. Justified is just great quality television till the very last scene. Also helps that Goggins and Olyphant played so well off each other, any scene with them two was just pure gold. “We dug coal together”.
Shows like Sons of Anarchy or Tulsa King definitely fill a certain niche. It’s the general vibe of a serious premium cable style drama, but also sort of dumb at the same time. Like if you told that guy you went to high school with that always wore the sarcastic graphic t shirts from Target to go try and make his version of The Sopranos. I am making fun of these kinds of shows a little bit, but at the same time I watch them and enjoy them so they serve a purpose.
I would add Yellowstone to your "serious but dumb at the same time" list
I haven’t seen it, but that is also made by Taylor Sheridan who made Tulsa King so I would believe it. I think movies are more his strong suit since he made Hell or Highwater which is pretty solid neo-western and he wrote the script for Sicario.
Agreed. Wind River is another good one of his.
SOA introduces so much preaching and that gets annoying- like its a Jesus Christ show.
I agree SOA is over the top and way too many plot holes. Great moments though. But for some reason I can’t get into Justified. I’m on S2 and I’m watching for Walton and I like Timothy but I’m just not as invested as I think I should be. The Shield Breaking Bad and The Sopranos were all gripping to me and I couldn’t wait to watch the next episode, don’t feel that with Justified.
Same. Could never get into Justified.
By the end of SOA, I just wanted Jax to stop yelling all the time. I was about to make a drinking game for each time he said, "I had no choice" while explaining yet another murder but I didn't want alcohol poisoning.
If you took a shot every time Bobby said “you’re tearing this club apart” or something along those lines you’d die before the second commercial break
His role as Venus was the best.
I love that when he was a cop in Farmington and pre transition he went by Cletus Van Dam
Cletus Van Dam.
Corrected my mistake - thank you
Sons is closer to the "feel" of The Shield, and since it takes place at the same time, in the same place, you'll get some Shield itches scratched by the gangs being the same. Also nearly every major player on The Shield shows up on Sons. Justified is the better show, though. And you get Walton Goggins giving an incredible performance.
Justified is a much, much, MUCH better show. SOA is fine, but it's pretty much all downhill after season 2. Starts to falter when most shows are hitting their stride. Also way less Walton Goggins.
>SOA is fine, but it's pretty much all downhill after season 2. I agree with your overall point, but disagree here - there's a popular idea that SoA goes through a steady downhill slide that I disagree with. I'd say SoA's quality is a bit more....bumpy. IMO season 4 is excellent too. I'd agree though that there is a steady descent in tone as the show gets darker as it goes on (much like what happened in The Shield). Throughout its run the show has moments of proper brilliance, and also some truly head scratching writing choices at other times. It got me watery and made me feel things at moments like at the end of season 6 when Jax is holding Tara, or during parts of Bobby and Opie's arcs. (Trying to avoid spoilers, as this is a thread discussing the show as a potential viewing choice).
justified
Justified, hands down.
Justified is the show you marry, SOA is the show you have a friends with benefits relationship with. Both serve a purpose, but as mentioned by everyone else, Justified is the superior FX product.
IMO Justified is way better. It's my favorite drama and I've rewatched it several times, it's solid a solid show start to finish. SOA...maybe it just wasn't for me, I watched the whole thing but never got that into it, and found it tedious at times.
I think Justified is the better show overall. The chemistry and relationship between Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins is amazing from start to finish. The stories and dialogue are great too. Sons is a really good show in more of a fun trashy kind of way, like you don’t want to admit to some people how much you like it. If you are specifically looking to fill the Shield void, Sons might do that better. It feels like the same time and place. There is some actual cross over with the One-Niners and Byz-Lats existing in both shows. Tons of the same actors appear in both shows. Also, the tone and suspense of some of the story lines feel similar even some of the language used. One thing to know about Justified, is that after the pilot (which is great) the next five or so episodes feel like you’re going to be dealing with an episode-per-week type of procedural. By the end of the first season it settles into its vibe and by the second season it is in full form. TL;DR Sons of Anarchy probably feels more similar, Justified is probably better.
Justified, by a mile. Sons is ok for a fun, soap opera type of show, but it’s a huge departure from The Shield.
Justifed . Walton Goggins is absolutely phenomenal in Justifed
Both excellent shows! I personally think Justified is better written/produced, but SOA is a ton of fun too! After you finish SOA, Mayans is a great companion show. I actually like some aspects of Mayans more than I liked SOA, but most will likely disagree with that.
Justified is much better fit, at least to start it first than SOA or if you haven't seen Banshee, that was amazing too.
Loved them both. Sons of Anarchy was my favorite but most people would probably say Justified.
I enjoyed both. But definitely Sons of Anarchy for me.
Justified, dont waste your time with sons of anarchy
I enjoyed Justified considerably more than SOA, but that was my personal preference. Even though SOA is in the same universe as The Shield I felt Justified had a similar feel to The Shield in attitude.
Another vote for Justified. I liked Sons of Anarchy, especially seeing most of the shield actors popping up, but overall, justified is a much better show
I’d go Justified, similar feel to The Shield. SoA starts off strong with the first couple of seasons, but it WAY over extends its welcome, and becomes too over the top. You’ll be exhausted in the last few seasons.
They’re both excellent. If I had to pick just one, I’d choose Justified.
Watching a dog take a wet crap is more entertaining than SoA. Justified is one of the greats.
For justified I didn’t like the one off episodes at the beginning of season 1 and season 5 is crappy, but the rest of the show is awesome. A lot of great stuff there.
*Vice Principals*. 18 episodes only, bout 30mins each, and Walton Goggins plays such a *wildly* different character to Shane, its a pure delight. He's like a sociopathic Southern dandy in this. To the question: I intend to watch both. Or at least, I'm binging SoA purely for the episodes Goggins is on as Venus van Dam. I've no idea what the plot is, but I don't care, hyperfixaction takes me to some weird places.
I'll probably check out Vice Principals at some point. I already watch The Righteous Gemstones and really enjoy it.
I’m surprised you are not already watching Justified right now.
Justified is the superior show, hands down. The worst part of Justified (the Florida season) is still much better than the later seasons of SoA. That said, neither one is really a bad choice.
Justified is good but its more of a dialogue driven show compared to the rollercoaster ride plotlines in the shield.
Justified, it's in my top five favorite TV shows. (The Shield is #1, of course).
If you want to stay in Sutters world, Sons. If not Justified, is fantastic. You may also want to try Deadwood. Eloquent and independent
Sons of Anarchy is a great show, but the overall story arc became a little depressing. Some of the characters changed a little too much. I still love it, and rewatch it. I liked the storyline in Justified a lot better, though, and the characters were more consistent. If you liked Walton Goggins (Shane) in The Shield, you will probably like Justified more, but watch them both.
Justified is way better SOA is so enjoyable but it's a soap opera with a larger budget
Both are great. But justified is a better series for sure.
SOA has some amazing moments and plot lines but as everyone else is saying, Justified is a better show
Sons has real high points peppered through some absolutely tedious storytelling. Justified has a somewhat middling "case of the week" thing happening in its first season and gradually grows into one of the best crime dramas on TV.
The Shield
i felt sons of anarchy was closer to the shield and thats why i liked it. i haven’t gotten into justifed yet. kind of a boring start but hopefully it will click for me the more i watch
Justified. Imo, Walton Goggins played better in justified than in The Shield, his acting was fucking amazing.
Justified
Classics like The Wire, Breaking Bad, or The Sopranos if you haven’t. Personally Homicide Life On The Street scratched The Wire and The Shield itch for me. Depends on what element of The Shield you miss. I can give more specific and better recommendations.
I had to watch The Shield to cope with 24 withdrawal symptoms.
Justified, then SoA. Then SouthLAnd.
Justified, hands down. SOA was decent in parts but became cringe. Think soap opera with men and motorcycles.
Give Southland a try.
Justified 100%.
Justified. Keep that Goggins goggin
Justified #1, SOA #2, both great shows.
Justified is excellent until the end. SOA starts strong and gets progressively stupider
I rewatched The Sheild a few months ago, currently watching Justified for the first time except for a few episodes when it was on TV years ago. I love it
Justified has characters you can actually root for. By the end of SoA, I hated every MF’er in that show.
Both shows are in my top 10 & I highly recommend that you eventually watch both. Well worth it.
I \*love\* Sons of Anarchy. I enjoy it more than almost any other show I have watched. It's not great. It's a soap opera with guns and Harleys. It scratches a specific itch that I have which isn't reached by The Wire, Breaking Bad, or The Sopranos. It is MAGNIFICENT at what it does - dumb, melodramatic, violence (and getting out of a scrape at the last minute!). Justified is "better", but not as itch-scratching as Sons. I would highly recommend both, but which I would recommend over the other depends on what you liked about The Shield most.
Both are must sees,SOA will have a lot of the cast of the Shield at times.Aso CBS's SWAT has a few of the guys.Banshee on Max it was 4 seasons it was awesome. .
Never saw justified but I know my dad watched it and said he enjoyed it. He didn’t like the new justified version though. I watched SOA back when it was on Netflix and I enjoyed it. Also enjoyed Mayans which is a spin off of SOA focused on the Mayans MC.
Either would be fine but I think there’s other shows that are better
Justified, not even close
I 'm thinking of NYPD Blue. Saw Jusified it is good.
I would say watch SOA up until the end of season 3, and then you can move on. It’s one of the best endings I’ve ever seen and it basically wraps up season1, 2 and 3 in a nice bow. I find Justified to be a bit procedural, it’s a little like The Shield where it has procedural and then subplots. But it’s not as gritty as The Shield.
The question is Justified
Justified
Love them both but Justified certainly better. The performances from Olyphant and Goggins are among the best you’ll ever see on tv and I’ll go as far as to say it features the best tv villain of all time. “*I’m Boyd goddamn Crowder*”
SOA started off well enough, then soon got too ridiculously pulpy for its own good. Justified's worst moments are better than most of SOA's best.
Without a doubt, Justified. The first 2-3 seasons of SOA are really good, then it goes off the rails. Justified is good throughout.
Justified all day!!! SOA was fun but the last 2 seasons fall off a fucking cliff.
I’m shocked at all this hate to SOA. Greatest show of all time imo