The dark Western series The Abandoned release date is set and it will premiere on Netflix on December 4, 2025, and looks to be a sweeping tale of land, family, and survival in the 1850s American West. Set in the untamed Washington Territory of 1854, The Abandons pits two powerful matriarchs on a violent collision course. Lena Headey stars as Fiona Nolan, the fierce and protective leader of a makeshift family of orphans, drifters, and strays. On the opposite end of the social spectrum is Gillian Anderson’s Constance Van Ness, the ruthless head of a wealthy clan backed by silver riches, political influence, and zero conscience. What starts with two crimes and an awful secret escalates into a full-blown war over a piece of land both women claim. The families find their fates linked by two crimes, an awful secret, star-crossed love, and a piece of land over a silver lode. Their collision in a place just beyond the reach of justice echoes the perpetual American struggle between the haves and have-nots. That collision sets the stage for a story of passion, betrayal, and survival.
Kurt Sutter departed during production due to creative disputes, then the series was completed by director Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders, Robin Hood) and co-executive producer Rob Askins (The Umbrella Academy), who carried the show across the finish line. The series was filmed on location in Calgary with sweeping vistas, authentic period detail, and a cast stacked with genre talent.
Executive producer Chris Keyser described the new show as “a classic American story, the frontier, two families both at war and in love with each other, a battle over who owns the land and who makes the rules.” He added that beneath the murder, revenge, and illicit romance lies a search for deeper truths: “What makes a family? How do you stay good in a bad world? And would you change who you are to protect what you love?”
