The Abandons tells of warring families in the Old West, set in the 1850s, so a few decades before the time of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Arthur Morgan.
One family’s cattle have been slaughtered by being forced to go over a cliff, with Constance Van Ness (Gillian Anderson) expected to be blamed, because her family have a gold mine, they’re a bunch of ruthless bastards, and she’s got a right face on.
Squaring up against her in the main is Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey – The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance), along with Dahlia (Diana Silvers – Birds of Paradise), who has a score to settle with Constance’s son, Willem. A devout Irish woman, at least her accent isn’t as bad as Maxine Peake in Say Nothing, and Susan Kennedy in Channel 5’s forthcoming The Imposter. Since Fiona can’t produce an heir, she’s taken to building a family by adopting four orphans.
Oh, and as for dodgy Irish accents, Ms Anderson was also in Trespasses!
There’s not too much I can say about it without giving plot spoilers, but safe to say, it’s played straight with zero humour, so it has a touch of the “Gritty BAFTAs” about it. Then again, there is a potential giggle when a bear comes to town, as it’s smarter than the average bear… it swiped my pic-a-nic basket!
Seriously, though, The Abandons is well-acted, but it’s a well-worn tale, and felt like it would go on as long as the plains do.
However, it was interesting to hear a cover of Trouble So Hard, by Vera Hall, and later sampled by Moby for his track, Natural Blues… especially since Ms Hall’s song was recorded in 1937, almost a century before this drama is set!
Thanks to our friends at Netflix for the screener prior to release.
The Abandons is on Netflix from today.
It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but when it is, it will be listed on the New DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K releases UK page.
Check out the trailer below:
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 40-50 minutes per episode (7 episodes)
Release date: December 4th 2025
Studio: Netflix
Format: 2.39:1
Series Directors: Otto Bathurst, Stephen Surjik
Writer: Kurt Sutter
Music: Jeff Danna
Cast:
Fiona Nolan: Lena Headey
Constance Van Ness: Gillian Anderson
Elias Teller: Nick Robinson
Trisha Van Ness: Aisling Franciosi
Garret Van Ness: Lucas Till
Dahlia Teller: Diana Silvers
Lilla Belle: Natalia del Riego
Albert Mason: Lamar Johnson
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.