In its fractious fifth season, FX’s biker drama Sons of Anarchy introduced us to two new characters, with varying results.  The first, Nero Padilla (played by Jimmy Smits) started out as a love interest for Gemma (Katey Segal), but ended up being a better father figure to Jax (Charlie Hunnam) than his (increasingly evil) step-father Clay (Ron Perlman).  Nero helped the MC financially and also emotionally as things began to break apart.  As much as he wanted to help lead Jax away from its violence, he ended up caught in its web as well.

Last year we also got the beginning of the story of U.S. Marshall Lee Toric (Donal Logue) in the final few episodes, and it seems Logue will also be back in the new season to expand on that part.  Hit the jump for more on these characters and what we might see of them coming up.  

In Season 5, when many shows are already on the decline, the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy has proven to be stronger and more popular than ever. Nearing the end of its season with only a handful of episodes left, things feel like they’re ready to explode for many of the characters and storylines.

During this recent interview, actor Jimmy Smits – who plays Nero Padilla, a Latino gangbanger with an exit strategy that gets into the escort business with SAMCRO – talked about how he got involved with the show, how he sees the relationship between Nero and Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), why he thinks his character is drawn to Gemma (Katey Sagal), how he finds common ground with Nero, who he would have liked to have shared some scenes with, the turn his character will be taking, and whether he might return next season. He also talked about being open to working in any medium, how he’ll be doing a play in the winter, and his thoughts on the Disney purchase of LucasFilm, having been a part of the Star Wars universe with the prequels, as Senator Bail Organa. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

FX’s intense biker drama Sons of Anarchy has had a number of guest stars already this season (including former Disney star Ashley Tisdale, Community‘s Joel McHale, and a surprise appearance byJustified‘s Walton Goggins), but here’s another one you might not have expected: Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction will be making an appearance in the final two episodes this year.

In related FX news, Jason Mantzoukas (known to many as Ruxin’s batshit crazy brother-in-law Rafi from the FX fantasy football comedy The League) will be joining the cast of Modern Family this season as Hayley’s (Sarah Hyland) boyfriend, who is also her co-worker and a jeans designer.  If Mantzoukas brings one-tenth of the ridiculousness of Rafi to this new character, I can’t wait.  But does that mean goodbye to Dylan (Reid Ewing)?  In the meantime, hit the jump for more specifics on each of these new characters’ roles.

Well that certainly opened with a bang. There were many of us in the SAMCRO fandom who feared the series was beginning to lose some of its luster during its meandering third season spent partially in Ireland. But not all who wander are lost — enter Season Four, which had the best cold open of any to date for SOA, and brought things (mostly) local again, focusing on club politics and betrayals (some of them quite severe). The end of the fourth season was compelling (Jax taking the clubs’s reins with a totally badassed-up Tara in support, a direct callback to Gemma and JT), but what made it even better was all that it set up for Season Five. Clay, The King, is not dead, the club is not rid of outside influences (in this case, the CIA via the Galindo cartel); they’re still running guns and drugs, and the members themselves, and their families, are in constant danger. Though there was no time jump from the end of last year’s run to the start of this one, things are already incredibly busy and incredibly dark. For a reminder of where things left off last year and a look at how things kicked off with the new season, hit the jump.

After production was halted on NBC’s legal drama Outlaw last week, cancellation seemed imminent if the ratings didn’t improve significantly. Well the numbers came in, and the ratings were even lower than the previous week. Deadline reports NBC has officially canceled the new series starring Jimmy Smits and will replace its 10/9c timeslot with a second hour of their staple news magazine series Dateline. The remaining four completed episodes will air Saturdays at 8/7c over the next five weeks. (On October 30th the timeslot is already taken by a Shrek Halloween special.) As someone who hated the series from the beginning, I can’t say that I’m surprised or sad, but I hope that Jimmy Smits can find a decent series sooner than later. Anyone upset by the news?

For some reason, television and its viewers find the most fascinating stories within the lives of cops, lawyers and doctors. Police procedurals, medical dramas and legal dramas have been around forever, and every season we wait to see which ones will stick on the networks new series line-up. For the life of me I don’t know why, but I’ve never found myself caught up in a police procedural or legal drama. With Jimmy Smits taking a turn as Cyrus Garza, a gambling, slightly chauvinistic, though surprisingly conservative Supreme Court Justice turned ethically charged attorney in NBC’s new series Outlaw, there was hope to fill at least one of those voids. So what’s the verdict? Find out after the jump.

The once powerful superhero saga Heroes has fallen on hard times in the past couple seasons, whether the metric is critical praise or viewership.  No shock, then, that Vulture reports it is increasingly unlikely that Heroes will get a fifth season.  The show was very much a pop-culture sensation in its first season, reaching upwards of 16 million viewers at one point.  It now averages less than 5 million.  The series still has a shot at another season based on solid DVD sales and a strong international brand, though those factors can only sway the decision rather than make it.

There is hope for fans, though, as NBC is apparently looking into a one-off movie (two to four hours) to resolve the various dangling plotlines.  Although, I recall something similar promised upon the network’s cancellation of Las Vegas which never came to fruition.  After the jump, details on NBC’s Law & Order: LA offer to Jimmy Smits as well as the network’s Emmy submission selections.

While walking through Showest tonight, I noticed the first poster for Rodrigo Garcia’s Mother and Child.  The movie premiered at this year’s Sundance Film festival to good reviews and Sony Pictures Classics is releases the film May 7 in New York and Los Angeles.  The movie stars Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, and Samuel L. Jackson and it tells the story of three women – a physical therapist, the daughter she gave up at birth three decades ago, and an African American woman seeking to adopt a child of her own – and how they intersect in surprising ways.  Hit the jump to check out the poster.

Yesterday, we reported the list of films playing in the Spotlight category at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.  As we approach the beginning of the festival, first images and additional images are coming online for the films which playing in-and out-of-competition.  Today, the first images for Rodrigo Garcia’s (Passengers) new film Mother & Child came online and we’ve put them after the jump.

Mother & Child stars Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, and Samuel L. Jackson, and tells the story of three women – a physical therapist, the daughter she gave up at birth three decades ago, and an African American woman seeking to adopt a child of her own – and how they intersect in surprising ways.

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival will run from January 21-31^st.

Over the last week I’ve posted tons of new images from all the movies premiering at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. While I thought I was done, this morning I was able to snag a few new images from “Get Low” and “Mother and Child”. Both films have great casts, and Bill Murray is in “Get Low”, which means you should care about it. What can I say, huge fan. Anyway, after the jump check out the images along with synopsis’ for both films.