Netflix's Western Epic With 'Game of Thrones' and 'X-Files' Stars Rides to Streaming Success

Everybody loves a Western. There’s something comforting about the Wild West. Horses, saloons, family, survival, it’s something everyone can relate to, and we have a new kid on the block. Netflix just rolled up with The Abandons, a bloody, female-driven series that has taken the streaming world by storm so far, making it into Netflix’s top 3.

Having been out for just a week or so, The Abandons takes what would be a normal revenge story and burns it to the ground. Lena Headey stars as a frontier survivor-turned-matriarch leading a ragtag “found family” through scorched earth. Opposite her is Gillian Anderson, cold as ice as a mining magnate who wants the same piece of land — and the treasures buried beneath it.

Set in Washington Territory in 1854, the story begins with a simple conflict between two parties, but we know how this goes. The land is rich, the authorities are there to be bought, and everyone seems to carry enough trauma to fill a sack. What unfolds is less a classic Western and more a territorial war where survival is bought in blood.

Is ‘The Abandons’ Worth Watching?

Tragically, the conclusion is that it doesn’t appear so. The series is packed with undisputed talent and star power, particularly from the two iconic leads at the heart of the story, but it seems like that doesn’t add up to much. Collider’s Carly Lane described the series as “plodding”, concluding that the Headey and Anderson deserved much better than what they were given, and noting her take that original helmer Kurt Sutter‘s disagreement with Netflix executives had a material effect on the final product:

“The Netflix Western series can’t sustain any significant narrative momentum, despite the two acting powerhouses that are billed highest. The show’s episodes are wildly divergent in runtime — some stretch for closer to an hour, while others only clock in at around 35 minutes — and both the story and characters ultimately suffer for it. There may have been a glimmer of promise in the premise when The Abandons was first announced, especially for a genre that has rarely been led onscreen by women, but the plodding end product that was cobbled together after Sutter’s departure can’t successfully be carried on Anderson and Headey’s strengths alone.”

The Abandons is streaming on Netflix now. Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest updates on your favorite streaming shows.