Writer-producer Kurt Sutter moves away from California bikers and takes an interest in the American West with The Abandons.
Fired by FX due to behavioral issues in 2019, Kurt Sutter recently landed a deal with streaming platform Netflix to create The Abandons, a one-hour television series that chronicles the myths and activities of his other creations but takes place in the Old World. West. The latter is also preparing his first feature film, It’s a Beast, about a trapper’s struggle with an elusive beast that devastates an 18th century English village.
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“I have always admired the origins of La Cosa Nostra, the way these Sicilian peasant families were more than isolated by landed barons and aristocrats,” said Kurt Sutter, creator of Sons of Anarchy. “These families came together to defend themselves against the cruel land barons, and it was by taking matters into their own hands that La Cosa Nostra was born, which became the power, law and order of the country. There are other influences as well. I’ve been watching reruns of Bonanza during the pandemic and, first of all, the show is holding up great. I remember watching this when I was a kid, but I just remember that there is an episode where someone gets killed and Hoss wants revenge, and I mean, it’s fucking black revenge. It’s a decent finale to a Sunday TV series after all, but I just realized that the Cartwrights were one step away from being outlaws, right? And I liked it,
The Abandons, Kurt Sutter has no shortage of ideas
Inspired by the late 1950s TV show Bonanza, the new series The Abandons will fulfill a wish that predated Kurt Sutter’s work on Shield and Sons, Maya, and The Bastard Executioner: “The entire first season will focus on their evolution as outlaws.”in a time before any cult criminals known to us, such as Jesse James and Billy the Kid. All of these characters didn’t show up until after the Civil War, but the Pinkertons were there, so you know there were criminals. It’s sort of the forerunner of the James Gang and other iconic outlaws we associate with the Old West. So we can do justice to this story like we’re crossing over with 11 year old Billy the Kid in season 2 or 3 while still playing in a fictional world, which is cool for me.