Kurt Sutter Exits His Outlaw Western Series THE ABANDONS as Production Almost Wraps
In a surprising report, we’ve learned that Kurt Sutter has exited the Netflix series he’s been developing for Netflix, The Abandons. He leaves only three weeks before wrapping production.
This is pretty crazy as Sutter was the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of the series. The Abandons executive producer and director Otto Bathurst and co-exec producer Rob Askins will oversee the rest of production, which will continue as scheduled.
According to Deadline, Sutter left over creative differences regarding the direction of the big-scale production as it is wrapping filming and headed into post.
Apparently, an “alarm went off at Netflix when the initial cut of the dense first episode, which sets the scene and introduces the large group of main characters, came in at 1 hour and 40 minutes.
“Cutting that down to an hour proved impossible, so a decision was made for the episode to be split into two. That required creating a cliffhanger in the middle of the episode with additional scenes on both ends to wrap the premiere and kick off Episode 2.”
The report goes on to say that “those additional scenes have been written but have not been shot yet, so Netflix’s decision to make a change at the helm of The Abandons comes after they have seen the unfinished, newly split first two episodes and part of Episode 3”
Netflix executives “felt the cuts looked somewhat disjointed and not propulsive enough but there wasn’t a meeting between the streamer’s top brass and Sutter for him to address the concerns.”
This isn’t the first time that Sutter has exited a show or butted heads with executives. He was previously fired from his previous series, FX’s Mayans M.C., following an investigation into complaints from writers, producers, cast and crew about a hostile work environment on the show.”
The story follows “a group of diverse, outlier families 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. 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.”
The series stars Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, The Crown, Sex Education) as Constance, “the matriarch of the wealthy Van Ness family who inherited her husband’s mining fortune, then doubled it. Despite the town’s inherent bias against women, her money, charm and ruthlessness created a network of political allies. For her, power, wealth and lineage trump all.”
It also stars Game of Thrones alumna Lena Headey, Brían F. O’Byrne (The Bastard Executioner), Haig Sutherland (Lucky Hank), Jack Doolan (The Boys), Jonathan Koensgen (Reacher), Katelyn Wells (Ginny & Georgia), Marc Menchaca (Ozark), Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio), Sarah White (The Bastard Executioner), Michael Ornstein (Sons of Anarchy) and Elle-Maija Tailfeathers (Three Pines).