Netflix's Yellowstone Replacement Series Stars Gillian Anderson And Lena Headey (And It's Coming Soon)

There's no doubt that the bewilderingly busy Taylor Sheridan has created somewhat of a Western revival in recent years. Shows like "Yellowstone" and its various spin-offs (as well as the Sheridan-created cowboy series you've probably never heard of) have managed to rekindle interest in what was otherwise a mostly-dead genre (though there have been some outstanding Westerns in the last decade). Now that "Yellowstone" has wrapped up with its fifth season and the spin-off series have similarly ended, Netflix is aiming to take full advantage of this newly-revitalized interest with its own Western drama, "The Abandons," which is set to hit the streamer in 2025.

The show comes from "Sons of Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter, and rather than mimicking the modern-day neo-Western style of "Yellowstone," it's actually set in the 1850s Washington territory. Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey star as the widowed matriarchs of two very different families; one wealthy and privileged, the other an underprivileged group of orphans. According to the series' official synopsis, the two families are linked by "two crimes, an awful secret, a star-crossed love, and a piece of land with silver underneath," all of which just means we should get plenty of family drama both on an interpersonal level and in terms of the two tribes clashing in no doubt spectacular fashion.

"Yellowstone" wasn't short on memorable female characters (Kelly Reilly's Beth Dutton fought her way to her own spin-off, after all). But "The Abandons" puts the women front and center, with Anderson's Constance Van Ness intent upon ruling over the town in which Headey's Fiona Nolan and her clan reside. While we all await the arrival of the Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler spin-off, as well as next year's "Y: Marshals," "The Abandons" looks like it might well scratch that "Yellowstone" itch for most fans.

Two families led by absolute badasses warring in the lawless Old West already sounds intriguing enough, but there's more to "The Abandons" than that. For one thing, it looks as though there'll be plenty of forbidden love to complicate matters even further, with Nick Robinson's Elias Teller forming a bond with Aisling Franciosi's Trisha Van Ness. Indeed, as executive producer Chris Keyser told Tudum, the two families in the series are "both at war and in love with each other," which should make things nice and messy. Netflix has also released several official images teasing, among other things, the aforementioned illicit romance, as well as plenty of tense standoffs and all-out battles on horseback. The show's ensemble is rounded out by Diana Silvers as Dahlia Teller, Lamar Johnson as Albert Mason, Lucas Till as Garret Van Ness, and Natalia del Riego as Lilla Belle. 

According to Keyser, the series asks the questions, "What makes a family? How do you stay good in a bad world? And would you change who you are and what you believe in to protect what you love?" That all sounds like exactly the kind of thing fans of Taylor Sheridan's TV universe have been waiting for, and while there's already no shortage of shows to watch if you love "Yellowstone," this women-led outing looks like one of the more intriguing examples. 

Considering Westerns have been faring well on Netflix recently, "The Abandons" certainly seems as though it could be a hit for the streamer. Back in April 2025, the murder mystery Western "Murder at Yellowstone City" dominated the Netflix charts in the wake of the Western series "Ransom Canyon" similarly taking over the streamer. On top of that, Kurt Sutter, who reportedly exited the show towards the end of production, is no stranger to sweeping family dramas, having overseen not only "Sons of Anarchy" but also its spin-off, "Mayans M.C." In other words, "The Abandons" should not only benefit from the Western revival started by Sheridan, it may even propel it further.

"The Abandons" hits Netflix on December 4, 2025.