The Abandons – Series Review | Netflix

THE ABANDONS on Netflix is a new Western Revenge series with a stellar cast led by Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey. Two of my personal female leads. Also, it comes from the iconic Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter. All of this meant my expectations were great. Too great, it would seem. Read our full The Abandons Season 1 review here!

THE ABANDONS is a new Netflix series starring Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey. This alone would always be enough to make me watch it, but when you then add that Kurt Sutter is the creator, I am even more intrigued. And also a little nervous. As much as I adored his Sons of Anarchy creation, he has had a few misses since then.

I would give this series 2½, if we did half ratings here at Heaven of Horror. Truly and honestly, I am very torn about this series, but the cast and their powerful portrayals did pull it up to a deserved 3 out of 5 rating. I just expected this Kurt Sutter Netflix series to be an easy 3 and possibly even a solid 4, but maybe I just expected something different. That’s on me!

Continue reading our season 1 review of The Abandons Netflix series below. Find all seven episodes on Netflix from December 4, 2025.

A Western led by Women

From the onset, The Abandons has everything that gets me excited: A strong creator, a wonderful cast, and a genre production with strong women in the lead. Of course, so did the 2017 Netflix series Godless. A series I was hoping The Abandons would remind me of, but it just didn’t. Fair enough, but it didn’t have to be so far from it.

With this 2025 Kurt Sutter Netflix Western series, we’re in 1850s Washington. Here, two families led by powerful matriarchs, where one is wealthy (Gillian Anderson), and the other is poor but deeply loyal (Lena Headey). These two matriarchs battle each other, and most efforts to work together for progress are ruined by greed or circumstance.

Specifically, we are in 1854 in the Washington Territory. Constance Van Ness (Gillian Anderson) is the matriarch of the Van Nesses. They are a dynasty of wealth and privilege, and basically run the town. Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey) is the head of the other family, known as the Abandons. They are a found family of orphans and outcasts – fiercely protected by Fiona.

Not only do these two families end up on a collision course over a piece of land placed over a silver lode, but also a story of star-crossed lovers, and a brutal secret comes between them. It’s rich versus poor. Greed and growth versus family and faith… and everything in between.

The best cast… why doesn’t this work better?

The Abandons is a Netflix series of glorious abundance when it comes to casting. Lena Headey is fierce and full of tough love as the protective and faith-driven Fiona Nolan. Across her, in many intense scenes or from a distance on the main street of Jasper Hollow, is Gillian Anderson as the iron-willed Constance Van Ness, who is intent on running the business as well as her deceased husband did.

The two could help grow the town and secure prosperity, but their needs and wants are far too different. Not in many areas, mind you, but enough that secrets and dirty deeds mean they can’t truly see eye to eye. This cast, led by Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson, does make The Abandons worth watching. But not much else works because the story just isn’t quite there.

In the cast, you will also get to enjoy the devoted Elias Teller (Nick Robinson), the spirited Dahlia Teller (Diana Silvers), the level-headed Albert Mason (Lamar Johnson), and the fiercely loyal Lilla Belle (Natalia del Riego). These are the four adult children in the chosen Abandons family.

In the Van Ness family, we have the ambitious son Garret (Lucas Till), rebellious daughter Trisha (Aisling Franciosi), and the eldest son Willem (Toby Hemingway).

A few of the other key cast members you should recognize are Jack Doolan (The Boys), Marc Menchaca (Ozark), Michael Greyeyes (Blood Quantum), Michiel Huisman (Rebel Moon), Michael Ornstein (Sons of Anarchy), and Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio).

Watch The Abandons season 1 on Netflix now

The Abandons comes from Kurt Sutter, as mentioned many times already. Kurt Sutter is both creator, showrunner, and executive producer, so this is very much his show. And it is full of wonderful actors from his past hit series Sons of Anarchy, coupled with other great actors.

I am still on the fence with this new Netflix series, which lacked much of the edge I expected. Both from a show starring Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey, and from something by Kurt Sutter. Honestly, I even hated (a strong word, but suitable in this case) the visuals for the title. It looked cheap with its faux silver shine instead of a strong black cast iron or something.

Yes, I am a little bitter, and I can’t hide it. So many of my favorite actors, a writer I know can create magic on the screen, and then a Netflix show where it felt lackluster for far too much of its runtime. Having said that, episode 5 (out of the seven in the season) did give me some of those old familiar Sutter butterflies, so I’m hoping this was an indication of Season 2 levels.

The Abandons season 1 is on Netflix with all 7 episodes from December 4, 2025.

Details

Creator: Kurt Sutter
Cast: Lena Headey, Gillian Anderson, Nick Robinson, Diana Silvers, Lamar Johnson, Natalia del Riego, Lucas Till, Aisling Franciosi, Toby Hemingway, Michael Greyeyes, Ryan Hurst, Katelyn Wells, Clayton Cardenas, Elle-Maija Tailfeathers, Brían F. O’Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Patton Oswalt, Michael Ornstein, Jonathan Koensgen, Jack Doolan, Michiel Huisman, Haig Sutherland, Sarah White.