Kurt Sutter Exits Netflix Epic Western Series ‘The Abandons’ Just Before Production Wraps

Kurt Sutter has departed his upcoming Netflix Western series “The Abandons” just weeks before production on the series is scheduled to end, Variety has confirmed with sources.

“The Abandons” went into production in Calgary, Alberta, Canada back in May and is scheduled to wrap in mid-October. Sutter created the series and also served as executive producer and showrunner. It was originally ordered to series at Netflix in October 2022 and was first reported to be in development at the streaming giant back in November 2021.

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Reps for Netflix declined to comment, but sources say that Sutter’s exit from the show came over creative differences after Netflix saw a rough cut of the first episodes. Reportedly, the first episode was so long that the plan was to split it into two, necessitating the shooting of additional scenes. With Netflix and the TV industry as a whole looking to tighten up budgets, “The Abandons” episode order had already been trimmed from 10 to eight and the series had reportedly already gone over budget to some degree.

Reps for Sutter did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment. This post will be updated should they reply.

The sprawling cast of the series includes Lena Heady, Gillian Anderson, Nick Robinson, Diana Silvers, Lucas Till, Lamar Johnson, Aisling Franciosi, and Natalia del Riego.

The official series description states:

“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.”

Sutter is best known for creating the FX outlaw biker drama “Sons of Anarchy.” In 2019, it was reported that Sutter had been fired from the spinoff series “Mayans MC” due to complaints about his behavior on set.

Deadline first reported Sutter’s exit from “The Abandons.”

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