Sons of Anarchy creator exits new Netflix series with just weeks left of filming
New Western series ‘The Abandons’ stars Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter has exited his new Netflix series just weeks before production was scheduled to wrap.
Filming on the forthcoming Western series, appropriately titled The Abandons, began in May in Alberta, Canada, and is scheduled to conclude in mid-October.
Variety reports that Sutter’s premature exit came due to creative differences with Netflix. The publication reports that various changes to the series were made by Netflix, such as the number of episodes being reduced from 10 to eight, after the production went over budget.
Netflix declined to comment. The Independent has contacted Sutter’s representatives.
Starring Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey as two mothers in a bloody feud, The Abandons was originally greenlit by Netflix in October 2022.
An official logline for the show reads: “As a group of diverse, outlier families pursue their Manifest Destiny in 1850s Oregon, a corrupt force of wealth and power, coveting their land, tries to force them out. These abandoned souls, the kind of lost souls living on the fringe of society, unite their tribes to form a family and fight back. In this bloody process, ‘justice’ is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law.”
The show was created by Sutter, 64, who also served as executive producer and showrunner.
Speaking to Netflix’s Tudum in May about the creation of the show, he said: “I am fascinated by the metamorphosis of good into evil.
“What must transpire to drive the morally sound to become the dangerously corrupt. The Abandons explores those complex compromises through the most powerful human instinct – the love and protection of mothers.”
This isn’t the first time Sutter has abruptly departed a project. Back in 2019, Sutter was fired from his FX drama Mayans MC after parent company Disney’s human resources department compiled a number of complaints from the cast and crew.
Sutter later addressed his firing in a letter obtained by Deadline, writing: “They claim the intel suggests that I created a climate of hostility, favoritism and enabled a set where no one felt safe or appreciated.”
Denying these claims, he continued: “I know that’s not true. I’m not saying it was all sunshine and roses, but I’m close with most of those guys and they love going to work. I’m also not sure how, having been on set… maybe three times all season, I was able to singularly create that much damage.
“What I do own, what I see now in hindsight, is that detaching myself so much this season was a mistake. I understand how it was perceived as me sticking my head in the sand. And that people felt like no one was steering the ship,” Sutter added.
“But that wasn’t a management error on my part, it was a creative decision to empower [co-creator] Elgin [James] and the future of the show.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments