Major Sci-Fi & Fantasy Stars Unite in First Look at Netflix’s Exciting New Western Show (It Continues a Big Trend)

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Netflix has given us a first glimpse of its upcoming Western series, and it looks promising for fans of Westerns, science fiction, and fantasy alike. The streaming service has a strong track record with all three genres, with major hits like Stranger Things and Wednesday being particularly successful. They’re hoping their new series, arriving in December, will build on that success.

The series, The Abandons, comes from Kurt Sutter, the creator of Sons of Anarchy. Set in Washington Territory in 1954, the show centers on two families who are constantly fighting-and are quite different from each other. The story particularly focuses on the women leading each family. We meet Fiona Nolan, played by Lena Headey, who cares for a group of adopted children, and Gillian Anderson as Constance Van Ness, a wealthy woman trying to take control of the town. The first look at these characters was shared [through Netflix on X and Tudum].

The Abandons Is Full Of Genre Actors – And Continues Netflix’s Westerns Trend

Get a first glimpse of Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson portraying the strong, leading women of two feuding families in The Abandons. It premieres on December 4.

Matthias Clamer

— Netflix (@netflix) October 1, 2025

The initial images effectively capture the Old West atmosphere, and a particularly appealing part of the series is seeing Headey and Anderson go head-to-head. Both actors are exceptionally talented, with long and impressive careers in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Anderson is well-known for his outstanding work in The X-Files, including the two films based on the show. Before achieving even greater recognition as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones – where she delivered one of the show’s most complex and compelling performances – Headey starred in the unfortunately short-lived The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Several other actors from Thrones also appear in the show, like Michael Huisman (who took on the role of Daario Naharis) and Aisling Franciosi (who played Lyanna Stark in Seasons 6 and 7). Kurt Sutter is also reuniting with some of his Sons of Anarchy cast, including Ryan Hurst (as Opie Winston) and Michael Marisi Ornstein (playing Chucky Marstein). Plus, the cast includes an actor from the X-Men films-Lucas Till (known for playing Havok in First Class, Days of Future Past, and Apocalypse).

Both Lena Headey and Toby Jones are skilled at playing complicated characters and showing the battles for control, and we can expect to see that again in this series; the idea of them going head-to-head is especially thrilling. Also, with Colin Sutter directing, the show probably won’t shy away from the harsh realities, difficulties, and violence of the time period it depicts. Netflix has a history of this in its Westerns, starting with the miniseries Godless (2017), and continuing with this year’s American Primeval.

That series represented a significant step for Netflix in exploring the genre, and it turned out to be very successful. The streaming service is hoping to build on the recent resurgence of this type of show, particularly those created by Taylor Sheridan like Yellowstone. The success of that show is clearly something Netflix is trying to repeat, as they’ve also attempted with Ransom Canyon and now, The Abandons. Given the people working on it, this new series has a strong potential to become popular.

The Abandons will release on Netflix on December 4th, 2025.

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2025-10-02 20:42