NEW SOA THEME SONG

ADAM ARKIN

I'll let the lovely Jennifer Godwin over at E-online, break it to you -- Sources tell us exclusively that Adam Arkin has joined FX's dark, violent (and awesome) motorcycle-gang series Sons of Anarchy for a multi-episode arc. Arkin will play Ethan Zobelle, a season-two antagonist for SAMCRO.

Unlike his current cute and fuzzy Ted character on Life, Arkin's new role on Sons of Anarchy will be anything but adorable. So what variety of wicked is this Ethan fellow? Here's what we can tell you...

Arkin's Ethan is described as a white supremacist who arrives in Charming, Calif., to open a new small business, reportedly a cigar shop. And you know who loves cigars, don't you? Ron Perlman's Clay Morrow, aka the undisputed boss of Charming and the sitting president of the Redwood Original. Clay doesn't love ultranationalist thugs, so skulls will no doubt be cracked before season's end.

Actor-musician Henry Rollins joined the Sons of Anarchy cast last month as another neo-Nazi baddie. (Kick his ass Jax!)

P.S. Don't fret, Life fans, Arkin could easily wedge this role in between seasons two and three, should Life be blessed with a last-minute cancellation reprieve from Ben Silverman at NBC or even Bonnie Hammer at USA.

Who else is looking forward to more SOA?

HERE WE GO

We start shooting season two on Monday. Had our read-thru this week. It was great to see everyone around the table again. Not to gush, but it's such a cool fucking pack of folks. I learned an important lesson from Shawn Ryan and Scott Brazil during my tenure at The Shield. When you are asking everyone to work harder for less money you have to provide two things -- superior material and an environment where people will feel safe, supported and loved. (Everyone from the EP's to the PA's work for way less on this show. Apparently we are the new model for TV -- quality drama on a "creative" bargain basement budget. The creativity being generated by my superman line producer Kevin Cremin.) So we continue to try and generate quality material and the cast and crew continue to bond. It's a great fucking set. Guerrilla film making with everyone firing on all cylinders. I saw it happen with Chiklis, Walton and Kenny and it's happening on SOA as well. The actors have become family and in our case, a club. Charlie, Ron, Boone, Kim, Theo -- they all hang out, drink, play golf together. Girls too. Katey, not unlike Gemma, has become the maternal glue. It's just in her nature to take care of those around her. God knows she gets a lot of practice with me. Had a great meeting with an actor today whom I hope will be be playing Ethan Zobelle. Zobelle is a new proprietor in Charming and the leader of an ultra conservative organization. Can't reveal any names until the deal closes, but this guy is a fascinating actor from a very talented family. That character shoots Friday so I hope it closes early this week. I appreciate everyone continuing to check in with my blog. What started out as a self-absorbed platform for random opinions that no one gave a shit about, has turned into a very useful tool for Sons of Anarchy. I'm convinced the blogosphere had a lot to do with our grassroots ratings growth last season. I'm hoping by keeping you all up to speed on my process, I can get you as excited as I am about season two of SOA. I'm gonna task my writer-on-set producer, Jack LoGiudice, with grabbing candid shots of the episodes. I'll try to post non-spoilers as frequently as possible. I may bitch, slam doors, rip agents new assholes, sigh heavily, but I am well aware that I've got the coolest gig in Hollywood. I'm a grateful cat.