Netflix closed the door on The Abandons, canceling the western after just one season. The series, which premiered in December 2025, was one of the streamer’s more ambitious recent forays into the genre, combining period drama with strong casting, but ultimately failed to generate the sustained audience momentum needed to continue. Reviews weren’t helpful either.
Set in Washington Territory in 1854, The Abundances centered on the escalating conflict between two disparate families vying for land and power in a rapidly changing frontier. The story is anchored by performances from Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson, and the seven-episode season explores the class divide, moral compromise, and violence that underpins western expansion.
Deadline broke the news of the cancellation, reporting that Netflix’s decision appears to be closely tied to viewership data from the streamer’s latest “What We Watched” report. According to the figures, The Abandons had 19.8 million views in the first 28 days after its Dec. 4 release, staying in Netflix’s top 10 English series for just two weeks before dropping completely.
Strong debut, rapid decline
The western ranked No. 4 on the world’s top 10, with 7.4 million views in its first week and 7.6 million views in its second week. However, the initial interest didn’t last long, and the series only gained 4.8 million views over the next 17 days. In Netflix’s broader July-December 2025 rankings, the show fell far outside the platform’s top tier of performers.
Critical response also failed to give the series much impetus. The Abandons has been met with mixed reviews since its release, and currently has a low Rotten Tomatoes score of 30%, limiting its ability to build word-of-mouth momentum once initial curiosity wanes.
backstage commotion
A major behind-the-scenes shake-up has further complicated the running of the show. Creator Kurt Sutter exited the project before production concluded, leaving executive producers Otto Bathurst and Rob Askins to helm the series for the remainder of filming. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that Sutter’s departure came after Netflix saw a rough cut of the series’ first episode. The premiere was approximately the length of a feature film, and was ultimately split into two episodes, requiring additional scenes. Executive producer and director Otto Bathurst and co-EP Rob Askins oversaw the remaining filming.
Cliffhanger with no reward
And then there’s the part that tends to sting viewers the most. That said, the show doesn’t really hold together and ends in the middle of a brawl. The finale unfolds into a violent showdown between Fiona and Constance inside the burning Van Ness mansion, ending with an intentionally ambiguous final image – a sooty solitary figure emerging from the flames, and the series refusing to confirm who survived.
Netflix site TuDum asked executive producer Chris Kaiser if he knew who made it, and he wouldn’t bite. “I’m not going to answer that question. … I have a hunch about what it should be, but I don’t want to twist it in any way.” Still, he teased, “Obviously, one person might survive, two people might survive.[But]which one, whether it’s one or two, all those things are up in the air. That’s what’s fun about it.”
Heady didn’t give anything away either. “Listen, it’s a mystery,” she said, then joked, referring to Stranger Things. “It would be interesting if the Demogorgon left.”
That “maybe” approach might have been easier to swallow with another chapter in the middle. But with Netflix not moving forward with producing additional seasons, fans are left with a blunt, cliffhanger-heavy endpoint that feels more frustrating than provocative.
