Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter abruptly departs his Netflix series The Abandons

When Kurt Sutter named his new series The Abandons, he probably didn’t realise how prophetic the title would become.

Sutter, best known for creating Sons of Anarchy, exited The Abandons, three weeks after the end of filming. He was the showrunner on the series that is headlined by Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey.

According to Deadline, Sutter left The Abandons over creative differences with Netflix, which has been collaborating on the show with the writer since 2021.

Deadline detailed the circumstances that contributed to the schism between the two parties, which kicked off when the edit of the first episode of the ambitious Western came in at one hour and 40 minutes.

A decision was made to split that instalment into two but, Deadline claimed, that Netflix executives weren’t happy with how the process was going. The streamer then decided to let Sutter go.

Deadline also reported there had been minor disagreements between Sutter and The Abandons’ top cast members over storylines and communications, and that the show had gone over budget.

The remainder of the production, which still has the final episode and reshoots to film, will be overseen by executive producer and director Otto Bathurst and co-executive producer Rob Askins.

The Abandons is a Western set in the 1850s in the American frontier territory of Oregon. It is centred on a group of families who band together after they all fall victim to a corrupt power that tries to force them off their land.

The ensemble cast also includes Patton Oswalt, Michiel Huisman, Aisling Franciosi, Diana Silvers, Michael Greyeyes and Nick Robinson.

Sutter was in 2019 fired by Disney from his Sons of Anarchy spin-off series Mayans F.C. after an investigation into complaints from producers, writers, cast and crew alleging a hostile work environment.

Initially, he blamed the “creative scrutiny of Disney from day one” and hit out at what he perceived to be “heavy-handed” interference on his scripts and edits and said there was a “level of dumbing down story and inane PC restraints” he had not previously experienced.

He did, however, admit to being “an abrasive dick” on set and that he apologises to anyone who felt unsupported. He also conceded, “My arrogance and chronic distraction has created wreckage”.

In April this year, Sutter appeared on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast along with his wife actor Katey Sagal. In a wide-ranging conversation, Sutter touched on the circumstances of his Mayans F.C. sacking.

“It took a minute because ultimately, that departure from Fox/Disney was a bottom for me,” he said. “I had to step away from (it), and I thank (network boss John Landgraf) for it.”

Sutter said he had been in a bad place mentally around that time and his departure from Mayans F.C. woke him up to where else in his life he might also have been destructive, including his relationship with Sagal.