Gillian Anderson is Constance Van Ness, a widow who finds herself running a mining empire in Washington Territory in the 1850s.
And she has a problem. Production in her two main mines is slowing. Her primary investor, a Mr. Vanderbilt, is growing anxious.
To ensure a bright future for her mine, her family and the nearby town of Angel’s Ridge, Constance needs new land to mine.
She needs Jasper Hollow, a section of land occupied by four families, none eager to sell.
Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey) is particularly stubborn in that regard. She’s settled there with four orphans, now grown adults, she helped raise.
That group includes Elias Teller (Nick Robinson), his younger sister Dahlia (Diana Silvers), Albert Mason (Lamar Johnson) and Lilla Belle (Natalia del Riego).
Constance is more than willing to use intimidation to change Fiona’s mind. One night, she sends her men to stampede Fiona’s cattle out of their corral and over a cliff.
A few head are lost, but quick action from Fiona and her adopted children saves most of the herd. If anything, Fiona is more determined than ever to stand her ground.
Soon after, Constance’s easily distracted oldest son Willem approaches Dahlia Teller, romantic notions on his mind. Angry over the stampede, Dahlia insults him.
No one does that to a Van Ness in Angel’s Ridge. So Willem shows up later that night, drunk, seeking an apology. He winds up raping Dahlia. She winds up driving a pitchfork through his body.
The families of Jasper Hollow gather. They decide to hide the body in a burial site rather than turn the matter over to Constance’s hand-picked sheriff.
Now there’s more than land between the Van Ness family and the occupants of Jasper Hollow.
Gillian Anderson as Constance Van Ness, explaining the importance of her mines to the fate of Angel’s Ridge in The Abandons (2025)
Lena Headey as Fiona Nolan, envisioning a world in which Constance Van Ness’s empire burns to the ground in The Abandons (2025)
Review:
With Lena Headey of Cersei Lannister in a lead role, this analogy seems appropriate.
If you head into “The Abandons” expecting something along the lines of the first seven seasons of “Game of Thrones,” you’re going to be wildly disappointed. If you head into “The Abandons” expecting something more along the lines of Season 8 of “GOT,” you’re more likely to come away satisfied.
Given the sparsity of big-budget Westerns set in the 1800s being released these days, genre fans should find Season 1 enjoyable. The female leads are in fine form. Among the other lead cast members, Diana Silvers, Aisling Franciosi and Lucas Till are especially engaging.
Franciosi plays Constance’s daughter Trisha; Till plays Fiona’s adopted son Elias. They fall for one another in an oh-so-predictable Romeo and Juliet style subplot. But it’s pretty well handled and becomes the subplot most likely to keep viewers invested. Heck, in keeping with a Western with two females leads, Trisha even comes off as the instigator of the budding romance.
The plot, on the other hand, meanders all over the vast countryside. Some scenes seem designed for no other purpose than to give Fiona’s adopted children some screen time. Others come off as unnecessary and ill-conceived tangents.
Except for the well-done opening stampede, what’s missing is a focus on direct conflict between Constance Van Ness and The Abandons, the type of conflict that might make the hatred between the woman more understandable, Fiona’s determination to stand her ground more admirable.
One thing that shouldn’t scare off viewers is the runtime. The seven episodes clock in at under 5 hours, and that includes rather long closing credits at the end of every episode.
But do be forewarned. The ending assumes there is going to be a Season 2.
Aisling Franciosi as Trisha Van Ness, getting closer to Elias Teller in The Abandons (2025)
Nick Robinson as Elias Teller, the young man who falls for a Van Ness in The Abandons (2025)
Directed by:
Otto Bathurst, Gwyneth Horder-Payton
and Stephen Surjik
Cast:
The Abandons
Lena Headey … Fiona Nolan
Nick Robinson … Elias Teller
Diana Silvers … Dahlia Teller
Lamar Johnson … Albert Mason
Natalia del Riego … Lilla Belle
The Van Ness family
Gillian Anderson … Constance Van Ness
Aisling Franciosi … Trisha Van Ness
Lucas Till … Garret Van Ness
Toby Hemingway … Willem Van Ness
Other Jasper Hollow residents
Ryan Hurst … Miles Alderton
Katelyn Wells … Samara Alderton
Brian F. O’Bryne … Walter Paxton
Clayton Cardenas … Quentin Serra
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers … Oma Serra
Diana Silvers as Dahlia Teller, mocking Constance Van Ness even as her captive in The Abandons (2025)
Lamar Johnson as Albert Mason, one of the orphaned young adults Fiona Nolan helped raise in The Abandons (2025)
Van Ness allies
Michael Grayeyes … Jack Cree
Michiel Huisman … Roache
Aharon Jinjihashvili … Arkasha
Mac Menchaca … The sheriff
Other cast members
Timothy V. Murphy … The priest
Natasha Mumba … Lucinda Burrell
Hannah Forest Briand … Jenny
Patton Oswalt .. Mayor of Angel’s Ridge
Runtime: approximately 296 min.
Lucas Till as Garrett Van Ness, coming up with an alternative to his mother’s gun-running plan in The Abandons (2025)
Toby Hemingway as Willem Van Ness, the oldest and most distracted of Constance Van Ness’s children in The Abandons (2025)
Memorable lines:
Fiona Nolan, on why the folks living in The Hollow need to stick together: “Survival. Kin or not. Seems a damn potent glue.”
Elias Teller, after offending an ally: “My tongue. Just prone to spit fuckery.”
Fiona Nolan, snuffing out a life: “You forget when you’re being beaten, how delicate the hand is that holds you down.”
Constance Van Ness, explaining the importance of acquiring The Hollow: “We all know that without the expansion of Van Ness mines, Angel’s Ridge will slide back into the mud.”
William Van Ness: “Come to get my due apology. Your mocking made the fool of me today.”
Dahlia Teller: “I’ll show some contrition, as soon as you restore the cattle that took flight off our fucking cliff.”
William: “You think you are so righteous.”
Dahlia: “I think you are so drunk.”
Natalia del Riego as Lilla Belle, one of the orphaned young adults Fiona Nolan helped raise in The Abandons (2025)
Brian F. O’Byrne, trying to stay out of the fray between Fiona Nolan and Constance Van Ness in The Abandons (2025)
Fiona Nolan: “God gave us this land. And only God can take it away.”
Constance Van Ness: “If I knew I was getting a sermon, I would have worn my Sunday finery.”
Fiona Nolan, when Constance Van Ness urges her to sell out: “Safety? For my silver? You make extortion sound like progress, Constance.”
Fiona Nolan to Dahlia, about the killing of William Van Ness: “Was an act of love. To keep safe the life of someone good, I took the breathe of someone evil. Willem Van Ness is not your sin.”
Fiona Nolan, to a wounded soldier: “I have been called many names over the years, corporal. Angel has yet to make that list.”
Trisha Van Ness: “You are very kind, Elias. I am quite fond of you.”
Elias Teller: “There’s a mountain of shit between us, Trisha. I don’t fool myself it can ever be climbed. But if you ever find yourself in need, don’t give it a second thought. Come find me.”
Ryan Hurst as Miles Alderton, a Fiona Nolan neighbor with a secret past in The Abandons (2025)
Katelyn Wells as Samara Alderton, ready to learn the truth about her father’s deadly skills in The Abandons (2025)
Lilla Belle: “Ma’am, you truly believe this is the right thing.”
Elias Teller: “If I was to make a list of right things, I’m not sure this would be at the top.”
Albert Mason: “Or the bottom.”
Fiona Van Ness: “We need to give an end to this story.”
Fiona Nolan, watching Elias watch Trisha: “Does she have your heart?”
Elias Teller: “I don’t know. She has my head. All I can seem to think about.”
Trisha Van Ness to her brother, about her mother: “For fucks sake, you sound just like her.”
Garrett Van Ness: “And you are starting to sound just like a dirty orphan.”
Michael Greyeyes as Jack Cree, the man who watches over the Van Ness children for Constance in The Abandons (2025)
Michiel Huisman as Roache, the outlaw leader Constance Van Ness hires to help locate a missing son in The Abandons (2025)
Trisha Van Ness: “You are drunk on carnal spirits.”
Elias Teller: “I have no idea what that means. But I am for certain high headed over you.”
Jack Cree to Fiona and her adopted children: “Ready yourselves. Hell is coming.”
Constance Van Ness, after daughter Trisha rides off angry: “You have 30 men out there, and no one thought to stop her.”
Roache: “In the future, should we shoot on sight?”
Fiona Nolan, speaking to God: “You’ve given me a lifetime of fucking scars. This was to be my peace. This place. This fucking land. What more do you want from me?”
Fiona Nolan, ready for a showdown: “Boys, find me something that burns.”
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Clayton Cardenas as Oma and Quentin Serra, two of Fiona Nolan’s Jasper Hollow neighbors in The Abandons (2025)
Timothy V. Murphy as the priest who takes confessions from Fiona Nolan and Dahlia Teller in The Abandons (2025)
Aharon Jinjihashvili as Arkasha, the Russian who sells his guns to Constance Van Ness rather than a Mexican bandit in The Abandons (2025)
Natasha Mumba as Lucinda Burrell, the young woman from Trinidad who takes a liking to Albert Mason in The Abandons (2025)
Marc Menchaca as the sheriff, tiring of hiding Constance Van Ness’s dirty laundry in The Abandons (2025)
Hannah Forest Briand as Jenny, one of the maids for the Van Ness family, unwittingly putting her life in danger in The Abandons (2025)
Patton Oswalt as Victor, mayor of Angel’s Ridge, listening Constance Van Ness in The Abandons (2025)
Diana Silvers as Dahlia Teller, wondering what Fiona is going to tell the priest during confession in The Abandons (2025)
Aisling Franciosi as Trisha Van Ness, begging to know why Elias Teller lied to her in The Abandons (2025)
Nick Robinson as Elias Teller, trying to calm a spooked bull about to fall off a ledge in The Abandons (2025)
Lena Headey as Fiona Nolan, wondering why she should trust the latest proposal from Constance Van Ness in The Abandons (2025)
Gillian Anderson as Constance Van Ness, wearing the blood from a massacre she helped provoke in The Abandons (2025)
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