Lena Headey

‘Game of Thrones’ Star Lena Headey to Star in ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Creator’s Netflix Western

Former Game of Thrones star Lena Headey has signed on for Kurt Sutter’s upcoming Netflix western series The Abandons.

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According to Variety, The Abandons was ordered by Netflix in October 2022. Its full description 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.”

Lena Headey is set to play Fiona, who is a strong, devout matriarch. Although she was unable to have her own children, she took in four orphans to make her own family. “Driven by a higher purpose – and a strong-willed Irish temper – her faith and love for her family trump all.”

Netflix has notably given The Abandons a 10-episode order. Sutter, who created the show, will be serving as its showrunner and executive producer. Headey is currently the only cast member to be announced for the upcoming show. Details about when the series will be released have not been disclosed.

Kurt Sutter Opens Up About What Inspired His Upcoming Series ‘The Abandons’

While speaking to Deadline in November 2021, Sutter stated he always wanted to do a western series. “There’s that great lore of Ian Anderson wanting to be a great rock guitarist, and he saw Clapton play, and he said, ‘F–, I’m going to become the best rock flautist that ever lived,’” Sutter explained. “ And he did just that for Jethro Tull. This is how I felt when I saw Deadwood. I said, ‘Let me stick to the crime genre” and then used just about every actor that was on that show.”

Sutter also said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, he tried to get a western IP. He then went on to add that after one of his favorite FX executives, Danielle Woodrow, moved to Netflix, he quickly set up a new show for him to pitch. 

Sutter then explained what The Abandons is. He has been fascinated with the origins of La Cosa Nostra, and how Sicilian peasant families were being more than marginalized by the land barons as well as aristocrats. “These families banded together to defend themselves from these abusive land barons, and from that taking those matters into their own hands,” he explained. “La Cosa Nostra was born and became the authority and the law and the order of the land.”

Sutter further explained that more inspiration came from watching reruns of Bonanza. “I loved that it all came from that deep sense of loyalty to the family, the land, the town. Those were the origins of this, with the working title The Abandons.”