The boys of SAMCRO are going to be hanging around some new blood this upcoming season.

Deadline is reporting that long-time TV star, Jimmy Smits, has signed on for what appears to be a one-season deal.

Smits is going to play Neron “Nero” Padilla. Padilla is a Latino gangbanger with an exit strategy. It appears he’s going to become close friends with Jax. Padilla is going to be what Deadline says is a “dangerous mentor” to the new leader of the biker gang. The report is saying Padilla is going to be a heavily-tatted dude and extremely dark in character.

Unbeknownst to me, Sons of Anarchy has also been renewed for a fifth and sixth season, some expect a seventh as well since creator and sometime actor has signed on for three years.

photo: Alan Light