‘Sons of Anarchy’ Creator Kurt Sutter Is Returning to TV for the First Time Since Being Fired from ‘Mayans MC’ — Everything We Know About ‘The Abandons’
Kurt Sutter was fired from Mayans MC in the fall of 2019. The Sons of Anarchy creator was let go from the spinoff after the Disney/Fox merger because of a falling out between Sutter and his new bosses. Now, it’s been revealed that Sutter is returning to television as showrunner for his new series, The Abandons.
Disney fired Kurt Sutter from ‘Mayans MC’ after their merger with Fox
While season 2 of Mayans MC was airing on FX in the fall of 2019, Sutter abruptly exited the spinoff just days ahead of the season finale. At the time, Deadline reported that Sutter had sent out an email to the cast and crew revealing that he’d been fired from the show he co-created and executive produced after the planned handover of the series to his co-creator, Elgin James.
Sutter’s exit was framed as being the result of a stack of complaints in the human resources department after Disney’s merger with Fox. But in his letter, Sutter claimed he was having issues with the new Disney culture and was forced out — despite the fact he had an overall deal with 20th Century FoxTV and had worked with the company for 18 years.
“Disney letting me go today was apparently based on data collected by HR and Business Affairs from writers, producers, cast, and crew. They claim the intel suggests that I created a climate of hostility, favoritism and enabled a set where no one felt safe or appreciated. I know that’s not true,” Sutter wrote.
Everything we know about ‘The Abandons’
Three years after exiting Mayans MC, Netflix has ordered a new western drama from Sutter titled The Abandons. The streamer has given the series a 10-episode order after putting it in development in November 2021.
“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,” the series logline reads, per Variety.
“In this bloody process, ‘justice’ is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law. The Abandons will explore that fine line between survival and law, the consequences of violence, and the corrosive power of secrets, as this family fights to keep their land.”
Will Kurt Sutter’s ‘Sons of Anarchy’ prequel finally get made?
Sutter created The Abandons and will serve as the series showrunner and executive producer. Now that he’s returned to TV, some fans are wondering if this means his Sons of Anarchy prequel The First 9 will finally get made.
After Sutter and Disney parted ways, he admitted to Deadline that the possibility of The First 9 happening “doesn’t look that hopeful.” The reason that Sutter doesn’t have high hopes for the project is that he doesn’t own the property — Disney does.
“It’s their property. They’re not going to let me take it somewhere else. Right now, that relationship is in flux. With time and a shift in attitude, will we be able to do it? I don’t know. Hopefully. Maybe,” Sutter said.
Netflix has not yet announced a premiere date for The Abandons. Sons of Anarchy and Mayans MC are both available for streaming on Hulu.
