‘Sons of Anarchy’: Season 5 episode tops ‘Vegas,’ ‘Private Practice’

If you wanted any further proof that cable TV is starting to slowly overtake the major networks as the place to go for quality entertainment, all you have to see is the massive smackdown that the latest episode of “Sons of Anarchy” managed to put on a pretty solid percentage of shows in the primetime lineup.

With its 2.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic (the one most coveted by networks for advertising rates), the FX drama starring Charlie Hunnam managed to top all three shows on the “Big 3” in CBS’ “Vegas,” NBC’s “Parenthood,” and ABC’s “Private Practice.” To make matters even more impressive, this really wasn’t even that close, with there being a differential of four-tenths between “Sons of Anarchy” and the next-highest show in “Vegas.”

If you want to make this more interesting, this episode (which improved over the hour the week before featuring Opie’s death) also beat such network hits as “Go On,” “The New Normal,” everything on Fox other than “New Girl,” and even the “Dancing with the Stars” results show. The only programs that really can boast defeating it are such titans as “New Girl,” “The Voice,” and the two versions of “NCIS” over on CBS.

At this point, what we are personally looking forward to seeing next is how “The Walking Dead” fares upon its return to AMC on October 14. If it continues to increase its ratings at the same pace that it did during season 2, we would not be surprised if it ended up becoming one of the highest-rated scripted dramas on all television, and not just on Sunday night.

Are you surprised at how well “Sons of Anarchy” is doing this season, or how much the major networks are struggling?