Kurt Sutter Leaves Netflix Western The Abandons Before Production Wraps (Report)
Kurt Sutter has departed his Netflix series The Abandons just three weeks before the Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson-led Western is set to wrap, according to a Thursday report from our sister site Deadline.
Sutter, who created the series, was also serving as executive producer and showrunner. The Abandons executive producer/director Otto Bathurst and co-EP Rob Askins will be overseeing the remainder of production, which will continue as scheduled.
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TVLine has reached out to Netflix and Sutter’s reps for comment.
According to the report, the departure stems from creative differences over the direction of the large-scale project. The premiere, which introduces the series’ massive group of characters, came in at 100-minutes-long. When editing that down to a single hour proved to be inconceivable, a decision was made for the episode to be split into two, requiring additional scenes for a cliffhanger and proper opening to Episode 2. The report also states that initial cuts from the first three episodes appeared “disjointed,” and that the streamer did not meet with Sutter to address any concerns.
The series follows a group of diverse, outlier families who are pursuing their Manifest Destiny in 1850s Oregon when 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,” reads the official synopsis. “In this bloody process, ‘justice’ is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law. The Abandons will explore that fine line between survival and law, the consequences of violence, and the corrosive power of secrets, as this family fights to keep their land.”
In addition to Headey and Anderson, the robust cast includes Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens), Lucas Till (MacGyver), Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy), Michiel Huisman (The Flight Attendant), Michael Ornstein (Sons of Anarchy), Clayton Cardenas (Mayans MC), Nick Robinson (Love Victor), Diana Silvers (Space Force), Lamar Johnson (The Next Step), Natalia del Riego (NCIS: Los Angeles), Aisling Franciosi (The Fall), Toby Hemingway (The Crossing), Michael Greyeyes (Rutherford Falls), Katelyn Wells (Ginny & Georgia), Elle-Maija Tailfeathers (Three Pines), Brían F. O’Byrne (Nightflyers), Marc Menchaca (Ozark), Jonathan Koensgen (Reacher), Jack Doolan (The Boys), Haig Sutherland (Lucky Hank) and Sarah White (Brookside).
In 2019, Sutter was fired by FX in light of multiple complaints about his behavior on the Sons of Anarchy spinoff Mayans M.C. He sent a letter to the Mayans cast and crew following his dismissal in which he described himself as “an abrasive dick” and apologized, adding that “my arrogance and chronic distraction has created wreckage.”
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