Key Takeaways:
– Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter has unexpectedly left the Netflix series The Abandons.
– The series struggled creatively, with disputes over episode runtimes and narrative flow.
– Despite some production issues, Sutter’s exit comes as a surprise.
– Netflix has cut the number of episodes due to budget constraints but The Abandons will still push through.
The film industry is no stranger to surprises. The latest shocker is that Kurt Sutter, the creative mind behind Sons of Anarchy, has left The Abandons unexpectedly, a Netflix series which he contributed in creating. This sudden goodbye comes barely three weeks before the show was set to wrap up its first season production.
Understanding the Issues
If you’re wondering why such a crucial player would leave so close to the finish line, the reasons given are “creative differences”. Apparently, this is corporate speak for ‘Got a bit too messy with the story’. The trigger for these creative tensions seems to have been an episode that run longer than necessary.
The opening episode, coming in at a lengthy 1 hour 40 minutes, was more than what Netflix bargained for. Given the general practice for series, an episode of this length is unusually long. The most straightforward solution was to slice it into two parts. This choice, however, meant adding extra scenes to create a cliffhanger ending for the first episode, a task that has since been completed.
Yet, upon viewing the unfinished episodes alongside a part of the third, Netflix officials shared their concerns that these initial episodes appeared disjointed and lacked momentum. A meeting was planned to discuss these issues, but before that could happen, Sutter had resigned.
Unusual Departures and the Ripple Effect
Even more surprising is that apart from some budget gulfs and reported friction with top-tier talent, the production for The Abandons had been relatively smooth sailing. Sutter’s abrupt exit, therefore, raises many eyebrows.
Like many streaming platforms today, Netflix has tightened its belt in terms of production budget. The Abandons became a casualty of this cost-cutting measure, with the originally planned ten episodes being truncated to eight and further reduced to seven. However, splitting the premiere episode has brought the tally back up to eight.
About The Abandons
For those who aren’t familiar, The Abandons is a series set in 1850s Oregon. The series follows diverse families, outliers in society, who band together as a united family to fight against a greedy force trying to take their land. The narrative looks at survival and law, violence repercussions and the detrimental power of secrets, showing what happens when justice is stretched beyond normal.
Interestingly, Sutter had spoken earlier about his interest in studying how good transforms into evil. What compels a morally upright person to become dangerously corrupt? Through The Abandons, he hoped to analyze this shift and manifest the concept of ‘motherly love and protection’ as the strongest human instinct.
The cast is a blend of talent, that includes Lena Headey, Gillian Anderson, Nick Robinson and Diana Silvers among others, who will help weave this tale of survival, law, and corruption. With the departure of its creator, the future of The Abandons may be unknown, but it certainly remains an intriguing project to watch out for. And if the shakeups behind the scenes hint at anything, it indeed promises to be a riveting spectacle. No matter the upheaval, showrunners will ensure that The Abandons makes its mark in the world of streaming television.
