Gillian Anderson Joins New Netflix Series From Sons of Anarchy Creator

Gillian Anderson is returning to Netflix for a new series. Having previously appeared in Sex Education, The Pale Blue Eye, and winning a Primetime Emmy for The Crown, Gillian Anderson will be back for The Abandons. Variety brings word of the action-drama series which will hail from Kurt Sutter, the creator of Sons of Anarchy. Anderson joins former Game of Thrones star Lena Headey in the cast. A description for the series reveals it to be a period piece, set in 1850s Oregon as families move westward and find a new life. Anderson will play a character named "Constance." 

Netflix's official plot synopsis for The Abandons reads: "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. In this bloody process, "justice" is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law." Anderson's Constance is described as "the matriarch of the wealthy Van Ness family who inherited her husband's mining fortune, then doubled it. Despite the town's inherent bias against women, her money, charm, and ruthlessness created a network of political allies. For her, power, wealth, and lineage trumps all."

Though perhaps best known for his work on Sons of Anarchy, the transition of Fox-owned FX moving under The Walt Disney company has seen Kurt Sutter leave his former cable network home. Prior to Anarchy Sutter worked on The Shield, later developing The Bastard Executioner and then SOA spinoff Mayans M.C. He would depart the series after its third season however, revealing he had been fired. In the time since he has seemingly moved to Netflix, though news of a first look deal like other creators was never confirmed. In addition to The Abandons, Sutter has become attached to an original horror movie, titled, This Beast, which is also in the works at Netflix.

Ahead of the upcoming series The Abandons, Gillian Anderson can next be seen in White Bird, a new film from Lionsgate out in August; as well as Scoop, a new Netflix movie about the downfall of Prince Andrew.