Good news, Sons of Anarchy fans: No, the show’s not coming back sooner than September, but the first season DVD release has been announced – August 18 – and the box set will be loaded with commentary and other bonus features.

The show, which is a lot like The Sopranos, if Tony and company were Hell’s Angels instead of mobsters, was one of the best new dramas to hit the tube last year, with the whole main cast being Emmy-worthy: Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, Maggie Siff and the scene-stealing Kim Coates.

And season two promises to be just as great, with punk rock star Henry Rollins joining the cast as a new resident of Charming, one who “poses a deadly threat” to the SAMCO crew. Keep an eye on series creator Kurt Sutter‘s blog for more scoop on season two, including photos from the set.

Meanwhile, here’s the official press release from Fox Home Entertainment on the Sons of Anarchy season one DVDs:

IN THE TOWN OF CHARMING, CALIFORNIA…
THEY ARE THE LAW

SONS OF ANARCHY

SEASON ONE

Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal And Charlie Hunnam Star In The Dark
FX Original Series, Riding Into Town On Blu-ray Disc And DVD
August 18 From Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Special Features Include Gag Reel, Commentary, Deleted Scenes and Making of Featurettes

” …Intelligently constructed and handsomely executed.”
-Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times

CENTURY CITY, Calif. – One of the most critically acclaimed new series of 2008, Sons Of Anarchy Season One gets its motor running on Blu-ray Disc (BD) and DVD August 18 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. From the creative mind of Kurt Sutter (The Shield) the series chronicles an international outlaw motorcycle club that brandishes their own kind of law in the fictional Northern California town of Charming. Charlie Hunnam (Nicholas Nickleby) stars as Jax Teller, a man whose love for the brotherhood is tested by his growing apprehension for its lawlessness thanks to the birth of his newborn son and the discovery of a life-altering journal written by his father years ago. Under the watchful eye of his force-of-nature mother Gemma (Katey Sagal; Married With Children) and his stepfather/club president Clay (Ron Perlman; Hellboy), Jax is forced to keep his friends close and his enemies closer as he slowly begins to distance himself from those he considers family. With white supremacists, gunrunning hoodlums, meth-dealing rivals and crooked cops, Sons of Anarchy is exciting, risky and downright chaotic.

Sons of Anarchy Season One BD and DVD include all 13 original episodes from the first season and is packed with daring bonus features including behind-the-scenes making-of featurettes, cast and crew commentary on select episodes, deleted scenes and gag reel. The BD will be available for a suggested retail price of $59.99 and the DVD will be available for $49.98. Prebook is June 9.

Synopsis:
FX Network’s original series, Sons of Anarchy, is an adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club’s (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly that. Charming. The MC must confront threats from drug dealers, corporate developers and overzealous law officers. Behind the MC’s familial lifestyle and legally thriving automotive shop is a ruthless and illegally thriving arms business. The seduction of money, power, and blood.

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• Filed in Drama, TV News, TV on DVD
• Tags: Charlie Hunnam, FX, Henry Rollins, Katey Sagal, Kim Coates, Kurt Sutter, Maggie Siff, Ron Perlman, SAMCO, Sons of Anarchy, Sons of Anarchy DVD, Sons of Anarchy season 2

41. Psych
How cool is Psych? So cool that among its many very diverse pop culture references has been Al B. Sure!, The Peanuts Christmas pageant dance, Drew Lachey and The Mentalist, a show that, as any Psych devotee will point out, came after our beloved Psych.

42. Best Week Ever – Best Pop Culture Wrap-Up Show Ever. Almost makes me forget how much I miss the Greg Kinnear and John “Skunk Boy” Henson days of Talk Soup.

43. The Sopranos reruns on A&E
The show’s still so good and so layered that you’ll find new things you didn’t catch the first time around, and I find I’m not missing the naughtier words at all.

44. Desperate Housewives
Was good, sucked there for a season or two, then bounced back. Despite the skepticism about the jumping-five-years-ahead storyline this season, I think it works, and has managed to freshen up a show that could have jumped into jumping the shark territory quite easily.

45. Boob tube to big screen adaptations
There’s the good (The Fugitive, The Adaams Family, The Brady Bunch Movie, Starsky & Hutch and most definitely the new Star Trek flick), the bad (Wild Wild West, Bewitched, The Dukes of Hazzard, Lost in Space and Scooby-Doo) and the what the hell were they thinking (The Honeymooners), but I always get excited about a TV show being made into a movie (or vice versa) and the possibilities of how some of my faves might be reimagined.

46. VH1’s Top 20 Countdown
Relying on VH1 videos to find new music? Yep, and I don’t care if that’s unhip. The fact is, I don’t remember the last time I saw a video on MTV, and though I often hear new tunes I like during The Hills or The City or The Real World (already admitted I’m still watching it), VH1’s weekend countdown of the top 20 videos is one of the best places to not only hear, but see new bands. It’s how I first discovered the pop/rock goodness of John Mayer‘s debut CD (after he had the bad luck to release the album on September 11, 2001), and I’d argue that American Idol “loser” Chris Daughtry owes a goodly portion of the success of his debut CD to his videos’ constant presence on the VH1 countdown.

47. Pat Kiernan on NY1
Those of you outside the NYC area may be unaware of the soothing morning goodness of hearing the delightfully smooth-voiced Kiernan tell you what’s in the newspapers every day, but if every city had Kiernan reading what’s In the Papers for them, it would amount to a better start to their day. Those outside NYC may also remember him as host of VH1’s World Series of Pop Culture, and you can also catch him on Twitter.

48. Malcolm in the Middle
Loving the FX repeats, especially of the later seasons, which I’d stopped watching when the show originally aired. But in the latter years, it’s all about Reese and Dewey and Hal (the comedic genius that is Bryan Cranston), as, apparently, the writers figured out what most viewers knew all along – Malcolm was a dud. The rest of the family rocked.

49. Breaking Bad
Bryan Cranston, comedic genius (see above). Turns out he’s a damn fine dramatic actor, too.

50. Saturday Night Live
Yep, still watching it, every episode, every season, even when it’s not the must-see show during an election year. Love the Target Lady, love Kenan Thompson, love Andy Samberg‘s digital shorts, love the Justin Timberlake appearances. Most of all, love the history of the show … one of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do as a TV writer was attending a live show (last season’s Jonah Hill-hosted ep). I was sitting there the whole time thinking about how I used to sneak out of bed to watch Eddie Murphy performing on that very stage. Back when Eddie Murphy was a comedic genius. Sigh.

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• Tags: A&E, American Idol, Andy Samberg, Best Week Ever, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Chris Daughtry, Desperate Housewives, Eddie Murphy, FX, John Henson, John Mayer, Jonah Hill, Justin Timberlake, Kenan Thompson, Malcolm in the Middle, Pat Kiernan, Psych, Saturday Night Live, Star Trek, Talk Soup, The Hills, The Sopranos, TV shows to movies, VH1

Another 10 things I love about TV …

11. FX
Sons of Anarchy is one of my favorite new shows of the last few seasons, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is the funniest show to revolve around mostly repulsive characters since Seinfeld. Throw in Rescue Me, Damages, The Shield, Nip/Tuck, not to mention reruns of The Bernie Mac Show and Malcolm in the Middle, and it’s no exaggeration that FX’s recent history of shows is right up there with HBO.

12. Michael J. Fox
Here’s my theory on why there are so many talented, funny thirtysomethings and fortysomethings in Hollywood: They grew up watching Saturday Night Live, Bugs Bunny cartoons and Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties. Of course there’s also the Back to the Future flicks, but Fox as Reagan-loving Ohioan Alex, who was rebelling against his hippy ‘rents, was a genius of comic timing, and one of the most endearing TV actors, playing one of the most endearing sitcom characters, of all time. And it’s a pure treat to see him back in action, and playing very much against type, as Tommy’s salty, bitter romantic rival on Rescue Me, as well as his on his new TV special, Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, which airs May 7 on ABC (10:02PM).

13. The Real Housewives of … Anywhere!
The Atlanta ladies were the ones who got me hooked on the franchise, the New York City women have turned out to be the feistiest, most dramatic, and I’ve even come around to enjoying the spoiled shenanigans of the Orange County chicks (well, except for Vicki … oooh, that Vicki!), but the bottom line is, they’re all guilty pleasure goddesses. Can’t wait for the Real Housewives of NYC reunion special next week (May 12, Bravo, 10PM), which is so full of catfighting that they had to split it into two episodes, as well as what may turn out to be the best spin-off of all, The Real Housewives of New Jersey (season premiere May 12, 11PM).

14. The Biggest Loser
It’s a feel good show, and a testament to the amazing things people can do, often starting from a pretty hopeless place, when they put their minds and bodies to it.

15. VH1 reality shows
Rock of Love, Tough Love, I Love Money, Flavor of Love, Breaking Bonaduce, Celebrity Rehab, Charm School, My Fair Brady, The Surreal Life … I’m not proud, but I’m even watching Daisy of Love.

16. Simon Cowell
Yes, sometimes he’s a tool, and yes, sometimes you might even disagree with him (though less and less frequently with each season). But the bottom line is that, no matter who wins American Idol each season, Simon is always the star of the show. American Idol without Simon is like … American Idol with only Randy and Paula. See what I mean?

17. The Cottonelle puppy commercials
I know, some people hate them, and hate that Zach Braff is voicing them, but puppy on a treadmill, puppy in a hot tub, hundreds of puppies on a staircase … cuteness gold.

18. The Bad Girls Club
From the same producers who gave us The Real World comes this reality series where several strangers are picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real … real skanky, real trashy, real potty-mouthed and real prone to smacking each other and dousing each other with various liquids. It’s good stuff.

19. Regis Philbin
He’s a great storyteller and charming host, but Regis’ best moments are the ones when he’s interviewing a guest he doesn’t know, or whose project he doesn’t know, and he doesn’t bother to pretend he does. He’s Regis damn it, and really, why would Regis know about some reality TV show Nick Lachey is producing? Reeg has earned the right not to know.

20. DIY Network
Still doin’ the NYC apartment thang, but when the hubs and I do buy a house, we’ll know how to regrout it, install cabinets and flooring in it, feed and water its lawn and be experts on its retaining walls, all thanks to the DIY Network. And, thanks to DIY Net’s arts and crafts shows, I’ll also know how to knit things for it, bead jewelry to wear in it and scrapbook the photos I take of it.

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• Tags: DIY Network, FX, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Michael J. Fox, Real Housewives, Regis Philbin, Rescue Me, Rock of Love, Simon Cowell, Sons of Anarchy, The Bad Girls Club, The Biggest Loser, VH1