I can't believe we are two weeks away from the premier. Time, in the throes of this process, becomes such an odd phenomenon. Everything seems to be moving at a normal rhythm until about script number four. Then it slips into this warped speed-hole, where one episode just dovetails into another and it feels like one big move. All of a sudden, I'm staring at my white board in my home office and I see beats for 313. Really? I guess that's a good sign. If we were agonizing over story, scripts and cuts, time would be passing much more slowly.
I've given a few interviews about season three and I'll be doing a few more before we air. I'll tell you what I've told the press. At least this way I know the story will get to you in it's intended construct, unlike those douche-bags who fucked with Mo Ryan's story to make Charlie sound disgruntled, then baited me into a reaction before I was bright enough to do the due diligence. Those hit-whore motherfuckers should all die. But I digress... Season three is a bit different for us. I felt like after two seasons of serialized character development, fans would be open to learn more about the history of the club. This season we delve into the mythology of the Sons connection to the IRA and John Teller's relationship with Belfast. It's a huge season for Jax. In fact, it's all about the three generations of Tellers -- John, Jax and Abel.
Folks keep asking me about numbers -- will the premier be as big as last year, bigger, what do I expect? To me, the growth of Sons of Anarchy between season one and season two was an extraordinary anomaly. It was a result of the show's season one premier getting sideswiped by the RNC Palin speech and the steady increase of fans we added as season one continued. We had like a 90% increase between the season one and season two premiers (something close to that). Unfortunately, this season, anything less than another huge increase will most likely be labeled a failure. Look at Mad Men -- they retained their big season three growth and even added a few percentage points this season, but the press tagged it a disappointment. I would gladly accept that disappointment. I will be very happy if all the fans we had last year show up again this year. Yes, it would be awesome to grow, but in this TV landscape, retaining that huge growth between season one and two would be very satisfying.
I really dig the season. It's an important one for me. There are a lot of deeply personal themes weaved throughout this mythology and this season we experience a chunk of them. I hope the fans embrace it. I also want to say on-the-record that everyone involved in this show brought their A-game to the court. It was a brutal production this year. We had two big story-lines running simultaneously -- Charming and Belfast. A two-week second unit in Ireland. A huge guest cast. Actors and crew have been on overdrive since episode three. And if I haven't said it lately, I'll repeat myself now -- I have the most talented cast working in television and the hardest-working, most dedicated fucking crew in Hollywood.
With the bigness of this season, my producers and I have been working hard to figure out a way to make our pattern (budget) and even though we've been struggling to do so, the studio and the network has been awesome this year. They've really given me room and support to tell these expansive stories. I'm still responsible for my bottom-line, but everyone has been extremely diplomatic in the way they've put my feet to the fire. As a guy who easily rants my gripes, it's equally important that I share my gratitude. FX, Fox 21 and Twentieth have been great creative partners this season. And I thank them for that.
I'll try to post a couple more updates before we premier. Again, thanks for all the support and I hope you all spread the word about SOA. September 7th. Aye.