Surfboards, Shotguns, and Sins:This Series Is the Beachside Cousin to 'Sons of Anarchy'

Imagine Sons of Anarchy, but swap the motorbikes for surfboards and leather jackets for beachwear — that’s roughly the world of Animal Kingdom. Spanning six adrenaline-fuelled seasons, this TNT drama set in sunny Oceanside, California, offers a gritty, slow-burn descent into the criminal underworld of one family that lives by its own rules — and breaks everyone else’s.

At the heart of the story is Joshua 'J' Cody, a quiet teenager forced into his estranged family's orbit after the death of his mother. His cold-eyed grandmother, Janine 'Smurf' Cody (played with electric menace by Ellen Barkin), runs the family with an iron fist and a soft smile. But as J becomes more embedded in their dangerous operations — robberies, laundering, and all manner of double-crosses — secrets begin to rise to the surface. Including the long-shrouded identity of his father, a question that haunts him more than the next job.

Shot largely on location in Southern California, Animal Kingdom turns its laid-back coastal setting into a canvas of paranoia, violence, and power plays. It's a tale where loyalty is currency, and betrayal is often just one wave away. The Cody brothers may live minutes from the beach, but there’s nothing breezy about the lives they lead.

Packed with moral ambiguity, family dysfunction, and a fair bit of surf-noir charm, Animal Kingdom delivers a compelling look at how far people will go to protect their own — even when 'their own' might be the most dangerous part of all.