A Perfect 'Deadwood' Follow-up Streaming On Netflix Actorsvaultpro

Netflix just dropped what everyone hopes will be the next big Western series (any lukewarm-to-negative fan reception might kill any enthusiasm for the genre’s upcoming originals on the streaming service). The Abandons is available starting today, and follows Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey), an Irish woman who adopts four children after learning she cannot have a child. Unfortunately, Fiona’s parenting duties are soon hampered by the presence of European aristocrats claiming possession of her Oregon home. Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) plays the chief aggressor, Constance Van Ness, who is every inch a Nietzschean character. Her pursuit of wealth makes her completely blind to the little things that truly matter in life, such as relationships with neighbors and broader societal responsibilities.

The series was created by Kurt Sutter, best known for The Shield, Sons of Anarchy, and Mayans. The writer and producer left the show a few weeks before production for the first season was completed, but fans have every reason to be excited because he laid much of the foundation, and has only had one flop in his career (The Bastard Executioner). The jury is still out on whether that particular show was sent to the guillotine too soon.

Now is the perfect time for a show like The Abandons to premiere since the Western genre has become more popular than ever on television. The recent success of the Yellowstone franchise suggests a significant appetite for the kind of solid, craftsman-like artistry that Sutter typically practices. But for the show to be truly great, it’ll need to match (or be better than) the daddy of them all: Deadwood.

Sutter Fell in Love With Westerns After Watching ‘Deadwood’

HBO

Starring Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood is considered the greatest Western show of all time. Created by David Milch (NYPD Blue), the show takes viewers back to 1870s Deadwood, South Dakota, before and after the region’s annexation by the Dakota Territory. As the primary setting morphs from a lawless mining camp into a budding frontier town, former lawman Seth Bullock (Olyphant) looks forward to a peaceful future, but he soon finds himself feuding with ruthless salon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), who has everyone under his thumb.

By virtue of its capitalistic tone and tortured ambivalence about crime and ethics, the series has very modern sensibilities. Consequently, it received critical acclaim, scoring 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. It also won eight (out of 28 nominations) and one Golden Globe. Besides that, the Writers Guild of America ranked it Number 32 on their list of the 101 Best Written TV Series. Regrettably, the Western ended after only three seasons, leaving fans furious. Thankfully, Deadwood: The Movie was made, set ten years after the end of the third season.

Interestingly, Kurt Sutter was inspired by Deadwood. He told Deadline that he conceived the idea way before he made Sons of Anarchy and always had the HBO western in mind.

“I’ve always wanted to do a western, even before Sons, and then Deadwood came out. There’s that great lore of Ian Anderson wanting to be a great rock guitarist, and he saw Clapton play, and he said, ‘F*ck, I’m going to become the best rock flautist that ever lived.’ And he did just that for Jethro Tull. This is how I felt when I saw Deadwood. I said, ‘Let me stick to the crime genre” and then used just about every actor that was on that show. But I do love the genre, and over the pandemic, I tried to get a western IP.”

Sutter had an easier time getting a green light for his idea after Danielle Woodrow, an exec he had worked with numerous times on FX, moved to Netflix. The streaming giant was hungry for a Western series to match Yellowstone, so the writer/producer was allowed to pitch.

Sutter’s absence is sad, but the show is still in safe hands. The directing team includes Otto Bathurst, who worked on Peaky Blinders and Black Mirror, and Stephen Surjik, who lent his services for The Punisher and The Witcher. And, in addition to Anderson and Headey, the Western has a supporting cast capable of providing charm and color. The four orphans include Albert Mason, played by Lamar Johnson (The Last of Us, Your Honor), Lilla Belle, played by Natalia del Riego (Velma, NCIS: Los Angeles). Dahlia Teller, played by Diana Silvers (Booksmart, Ma), and Elias Teller, played by Nick Robinson (Love, Simon, A Teacher).

Is ‘The Abandons’ the Next ‘Deadwood’?

Events in Deadwood unfold with a stately poise, a confidence that at times feels peculiar, unfamiliar. The show’s serenity (and bursts of violence) feel fresh, almost shocking, partly because it had been so long since anyone had dared to create a TV western in the meticulous, ample, and leisurely style of the films of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. Given the team behind it, The Abandons will easily earn a place among the most acclaimed westerns as time goes on. It’s still too early to tell whether it’ll be better than the Emmy-winning series, but if that’s what the producers are aiming for, then it’ll need to be perfect. The writers will need to ensure that they aren’t overly respectful of the antecedents or so scrupulous about genre conventions that they forget to make something entertaining.

Above all, two accomplishments are required. First, the most enjoyable, most potent, and nuanced performances will have to come from Anderson and everyone else who plays a villain after her (in case her character gets killed off). Second, the Western drama needs to stay interesting for multiple seasons, ensuring a longer run than the popular HBO show.

Few TV villains match Al Swearengen, and Ian McShane deserves the most credit for that. The actor was an admirable choice for the part of the central antagonist — odious and brutal… a rotter of the first order, yet strangely likable at the same time. McShane acts his heart out, something Gillian Anderson is more than capable of doing. For the show to stay robust, Constance Van Ness will need to maintain a fierce, robust, and implacable demeanor. Most importantly, she should never drift into one-dimensional territory. Swearengen always had plenty going for him. Whether it’s manipulating elections or eliminating loose ends, most of his actions were evil but justified. As bad as he was, he truly wanted the town to thrive. That’s a villain you can root for. He was also capable of good deeds, such as when he helped the abused orphan Trixie.

Overall, longevity will be the true test of The Abandons. For that to happen, the show will have to be interesting enough to appeal to a larger section of fans, not just Old West buffs. Deadood was widely praised by critics, but a lack of steady high ratings became one of the major deciding factors when a Season 4 renewal was being discussed. The series was produced by HBO but co-financed by Paramount (then Viacom) due to the extremely high production costs. When the time came to renew contracts, the former was simply unwilling to increase the budget for a show that didn’t bring crazy numbers.

Will this be achievable? We simply have to wait and see. Netflix executives are kind to the hits, so no matter how big the budget gets, the show will keep going if millions are watching. Hopefully, this turns out to be the case. Meanwhile, let’s enjoy this great story, a potent reminder of the sickness that lies at the heart of the man-eats-man system, where an individual’s freedom to pursue happiness and prosperity for themselves inevitably comes at the expense of another person.