It’s been nearly ten full years since Sons of Anarchy wrapped up its seven-season run with a string of vicious and deadly episodes that would forever change this fictional universe. While fans would no doubt still love to see one of the prequel projects creator Kurt Sutter teased over the years, his newest TV show will be Netflix’s The Abandons, a 19th-century western set many miles away from Charming, California. But while we know relatively few details about it, it appears as if there’s major potential to connect the new series with S.O.A. lore.
Perhaps most importantly for the sake of speculating, The Abandons finally started filming in mid-May, more than two years after its development was first announced, and a year after its initial production plans were shuttered due to the Hollywood strikes. Now that things are moving in a forward direction with stars like Gillian Anderson and Lucas Till, though, we’ll actually get to learn one day whether or not the new series will indeed feature connective tissue to Sons of Anarchy’s main bloodline. So let’s take a closer look at where things are at.
Kurt Sutter Shares Production Update For The Abandons
Though it remained unclear for a while when Sutter & Co. would be able to officially kick off production plans on The Abandons, a series of casting updates throughout the early months of 2024 indicated that good news was imminent. And then Sutter took to Instagram with the sweetest update possible, including a nifty look at the title font and a healthy dose of gratitude.
While plans can obviously change, the current set-up is for The Abandons to film in locations in Oregon and Calgary, Alberta through mid-October. The design team will be working to make the areas look as much as possible as they would have in the 1850s, which is when the story takes place, centering in part on Lena Headey's Fiona Nolan, whose attempt to raise a family despite not being able to conceive has her adopting four orphans, not realizing that her life would become more strained over others trying to assert ownership of her newly acquired home.
How Could The Abandons Be Connected To Sons Of Anarchy?
While nothing about the title, settings or plotline seems to easily indicate a throughline that would eventually tie off with Sons of Anarchy's run, it all comes down to casting news that was first revealed in March, when Maid's Nick Robinson and Booksmart's Diana Silvers were added to the star-studded ensemble. Because check out what both of their characters are named:
- Nick Robinson - Elias Teller
- Diana Silvers - Dahlia Teller
One doesn't even need to have watched Sons of Anarchy with any regularity to be fully aware that the series focused on Charlie Hunnam's power-hungry biker Jax Teller and the character's badass mother Gemma, as portrayed with ferocity by Katey Sagal. Jax's father, John Teller, passed away before the drama's timeline, and was the hook behind ideas about a prequel series that focused on the SAMCRO brotherhood's origins.
The Abandons' old West setting and outlaw-driven storyline obviously don't seem like they'll offer up direct ties to all of the motorcycle-obsessed outlaws that populated the Sons' ranks, such as Clay Morrow or Piney Winston. But if there are two characters officially named Teller within the scope of this show, is it safe for fans to lightly assume that they're ancestors?
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I'm not sure if that's even possible from a creative rights perspective, at least in an official way that would allow Sons of Anarchy and The Abandons to share lore through a character's family name. I feel like unless all the studios involved are just super-agreeable about sharing copyright permissions out of the blue, Kurt Sutter may just be giving fans a winking nod to his former hit drama, rather than anything more substantial.
But holy shit, if it IS real, and those ARE Jax Teller's great-etc.-grandparents without a doubt, that would very likely be more nutso and mind-breaking than any of the Jax-specific references on Mayans M.C. Given how far apart the timelines are, nothing so impactful would happen, I presume, but it would still be huge for all the obvious reasons.
Of course, if the show comes out and both Teller characters die childless within the first ten minutes of the series premiere, this speculation will probably seem a little silly in hindsight. But until it's proven wrong, I'm going to anticipate with hope that Sons of Anarchy fans will get an unexpected prologue of sorts with The Abandons.
Even if that doesn't happen, audiences will certainly still see some familiar faces from the FX drama, though obviously in far different roles. We can look forward to see Sutter reteaming with Ryan Hurst, who played the fan-favorite Opie, as well as Michael Ornstein, whose oddball Chucky Marstein also went on to appear in Mayans M.C. The spinoff's Clayton Cardenas is also in the mix for The Abandons, as well as non-legacy actors such as Aisling Franciosi, Lamar Johnson, Patton Oswalt, Jack Doolan, Michael Greyeyes, Michiel Huisman, and many more.
The Abandons will be available to stream with a Netflix subscription at an unknown point in the future, with Summer 2025 being a likely release window. Check out Netflix's 2024 TV and movie schedule in the meantime, and don't forget to gas up.
