Jimmy Smits And Donal Logue Are Returning To ‘Sons Of Anarchy’

The way that Sons of Anarchy burned through characters two seasons ago — and to a lesser extent last season — I had begun to wonder if there’d be anyone left to kill off, especially after the fan favorite and the emotional center of the show was brutally murdered (RIP OPIE *sob*). Kurt Sutter, however, managed to integrate two new characters into the show last season for what felt like was likely a one-arc-and-done stint. The first, Nero (played by Jimmy Smits), ended the season on an ambiguous note. We didn’t know if he’d buy the farm (literally) and resign himself to the quiet life or stick with SAMCRO and his rekindled gang affiliations.

We have an answer now, via TVLine: Jimmy Smits has signed on for all 13 episodes of season six, where he’s expected to continue exploring his relationship with Gemma. Given the way Sutter burns through plot these days, however, Nero and Gemma could be married by the halfway mark of the season premiere and mortal enemies by the end of the episode.

The more exciting development, at least to my mind, will be the return of Donal Logue, who is set to return as former U.S. Marshall Lee Toric. He was just getting started at the end of season five, and it’s still not entirely clear where his character is headed, but he will be back for a “major arc” in season six, according to Deadline. We don’t know how many episodes that entails, but having also signed on as a series regular for BBC America’s Copper, Logue may not be available for the full season. Until we get that rumored Terriers movie, however, we’ll take all the Logue we can get.

Now, if we could just get Sutter to ask Joel McHale back, preferably as a series regular.