‘Sons of Anarchy’ Star Katey Sagal Plays Mom to Son Jackson White in New Series

Jackson White got a very special visit during Tell Me Lies‘ fifth episode from his real-life mom, Katey Sagal. The actor’s character Stephen in the Hulu series returns home from college for the holidays when viewers meet his mother Norah, who is played by the Sons of Anarchy and Married…With Children alum. 

Norah’s manipulative behavior immediately sheds light on Stephen’s own dishonest behavior, especially when it comes to his relationship with Lucy, played in the show by Grace Van Patten. Casting Sagal as Stephen’s mother in Tell Me Lies was a no-brainer for showrunner Meaghan Oppenheim, who told ABC News, but first she wanted to get the blessing of her leading man. 

“I felt I had to ask Jackson before anyone else. So I texted him. I said, ‘How would you feel if your mom played Norah?’” she recalled. “And he didn’t respond for a while and then he was like, ‘I love it. Let’s talk to her.’” Sagal noted that after a brief conversation with Oppenheim, her response was an “immediate yes.”

White called the whole experience “insane” and “perfect casting.” He explained of shifting their real-life dynamic to that of Stephen and Norah’s, “I’m friends with my mother, and we had to be extremely passive-aggressive and tense, but it was so fun and exciting to build that relationship and talk to each other how we’ve never really talked to each other.”

Sagal agreed, “It was a challenge to leave our very close relationship at the door, and take on the extremely toxic dynamic between Stephen and his mom. Jackson shows up fully on set, ready to play, present and collaborative. It was beautiful.”

Van Patten agreed that it was her “favorite episode” getting to see Stephen’s roots just as the audience was turned completely against his character. “It’s such a good middle mark because you can’t hate Stephen really any more than you do before episode four, so then five comes in and it slaps some empathy on, you reboot your feelings and possibly understand him a little bit more,” she explained. Tell Me Lies is streaming now on Hulu.