Kurt Sutter’s upcoming Netflix Western TV series The Abandons is different from Sons of Anarchy, but it’s repeating the latter’s best character trick with its lead characters. In 2008, Kurt Sutter took viewers to the fictional town of Charming, California, to meet the motorcycle club Sons of Anarchy in the TV series of the same name. Sons of Anarchy aired from 2008 to 2014 for seven seasons, following the rise and fall of Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the VP of the club who then became President, which marked the beginning of his chaotic downfall.

Sons of Anarchy saw Jax and the club dealing with betrayal (within the club and with other supposed allies), ambition, power, and grief that almost led to the club’s destruction, but Jax managed to keep it afloat until his final minutes. Now, a decade after Sons of Anarchy ended, Kurt Sutter is working on a new TV show titled The Abandons, set to premiere on Netflix. Despite its completely different time and geographical settings, The Abandons has some interesting connections to Sons of Anarchy, including how it’s repeating the latter’s best character trick.

The Abandons Is Repeating Sons of Anarchy’s Gemma Teller-Morrow With Its Main Characters

The Abandons’ Main Characters Are Reminiscent Of Gemma

The Abandons is a Western-action drama set in the 1850s. What’s known about The Abandons so far is that it will follow Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey), an Irish woman who, unable to conceive a child, forms her family by adopting four orphans. Fiona is described as a “strong-willed matriarch” who will “stop at nothing to protect her family”. Fiona will face Constance Van Ness (Gillian Anderson), a wealthy aristocrat aiming to consolidate her family’s clan’s power. Just like Fiona, Constance is described as an unstoppable strong-willed matriarch, though her objective is to grow her family’s mining fortune.

Speaking to Netflix’s Tudum, Sutter shared his fascination for the “metamorphosis of good into evil” and that The Abandons will explore “those complex compromises through the most powerful instinct – the love and protection of mothers”. Fiona, Constance, and Sutter’s description of The Abandons’ core themes are reminiscent of Sons of Anarchy’s Gemma Teller-Morrow (Katey Sagal). Gemma was Jax’s mother, who, after his father’s death, married the new President of the club, Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), with whom she planned the death of Jax’s father.

Despite being an “old lady”, though the main one in SAMCRO as she was the wife of the club’s President (and the widow of one of the founders), Gemma had too much influence in the club. Gemma was respected by all members of SAMCRO, of which some even called her “mom”, and she went to extremes to protect the club and her family. Gemma was definitely a strong-willed matriarch who knew no limits when it came to protecting her loved ones, and The Abandons’ Fiona and Constance are two sides of Gemma: the one who fiercely protected what she had and the one who wanted more.

The Abandons Has Other Strong Connections To Sons of Anarchy

The Abandons Could Be A Secret Sons of Anarchy Prequel

Fiona and Constance being the Gemmas of The Abandons isn’t the only connection the series already has to Sons of Anarchy. The Abandons is reuniting Sutter with Ryan Hurst, who played SAMCRO member and Jax’s best friend Opie Winston, a fan-favorite character with a tragic ending. Perhaps most important is that there are two characters in The Abandons with the last name “Teller”: Elias (Nick Robinson) and Dahlia Teller (Diana Silvers). Although their role in the series is unknown, this connection points to The Abandons possibly being a Sons of Anarchy prequel.

Sons of Anarchy left many questions about the origins of SAMCRO and the backstory of the Teller family beyond Jax’s father founding the club and the strange circumstances surrounding his death. The Abandons could take a look at what some of Jax’s relatives did for their community, just like he and SAMCRO did for Charming in Sons of Anarchy.

Source: Netflix’s Tudum.