Image via Eddy Chen / ©TNT / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Published Feb 11, 2026, 5:10 PM EST
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Carolyn Jenkins is a voracious consumer of film and television. She graduated from Long Island University with an MFA in Screenwriting and Producing where she learned the art of character, plot, and structure. The best teacher is absorbing media and she spends her time reading about different worlds from teen angst to the universe of Stephen King.
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Just as Sons of Anarchy was making its final ride, an equally compelling crime series was gaining traction on TNT. The biker drama pulled audiences in not just because of its gritty violence and captivating world, but because of the intimate family dynamics that were brewing beneath the surface. Jax Teller’s (Charlie Hunnam) biggest foe wasn’t any rival gang member, but his scheming mother, Gemma (Katey Sagal).
Similarly, family is at the center of the crime saga, Animal Kingdom. Adapted from the Australian film of the same name, the series ran for six seasons on cable, set against the sunny backdrop of Southern California. Animal Kingdom has an ensemble cast with each character having their respective hang-ups. Bringing them all together is the matriarch of the family, Janine “Smurf” Cody (Ellen Barkin), who disturbingly redefines motherhood.
In ‘Animal Kingdom,’ There is Nothing More Dangerous Than Family
From the Corleones to the Teller-Morrows, there is always more than illegal activities stirring in these crime families. The Codys follow suit in Animal Kingdom as the members of the family are also tormented by the ties that bind them together. Smurf runs her family with an iron fist, which isn’t all that hard to believe considering they are her children. Jake Weary and Ben Robson star as her two youngest sons, Deran and Craig, respectively. Their love for their mother is all-encompassing, and even if they protest, they ultimately do what she asks. The crew is led by Baz (Scott Speedman), their adoptive brother, who is the most sensible of the bunch, and is close with Smurf’s oldest son, the mercurial Pope (Shawn Hatosy).
Fresh out of prison, Pope returns home to discover the world has changed. Smurf takes in her grandson, J (Finn Cole), after his mother dies from a drug overdose. The family treads carefully around the teenager, unsure if they can trust him with their business dealings. Smurf is all about family, but that isn't the case for everyone. Pope’s mistrust of his nephew turns into full-blown paranoia. In Animal Kingdom, the real trouble isn’t from outside forces, but the frayed tensions inside the house.
On the surface, the Codys are more privileged than J could ever dream. He lived in a claustrophobic house with his drug-addicted mother, only to see the life she was keeping him from. But as shiny and affluent as J’s extended family appears to be, how they got their wealth is another thing entirely. There is a reason why J’s mother never wanted her son around her own mother and brothers. Pope’s mental instability is only part of the problem. Smurf gets validation from the devotion of her sons. Pope, in particular, has an obsession with her that is a reflection of how she treated him as a child. J may be taken care of financially, but he is in far more danger than ever before when he moves into Smurf’s home.
For six seasons, Animal Kingdom unravels these troubling dynamics, which are the bedrock of the Codys' criminal enterprise. Born from the critically acclaimed film, the series is a breeze to watch, which viewers can do by streaming it on Netflix.
Release Date 2016 - 2022
Network TNT
Showrunner Jonathan Lisco
Writers Eliza Clark, Jonathan Lisco, Daniele Nathanson, Bradley Paul, Megan Martin, Etan Frankel, Addison McQuigg, Bill Balas, Vanessa Baden Kelly, Shukree Hassan Tilghman, T.J. Brady, Heath Corson
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Finn Cole
Joshua "J" Cody
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English (US) ·