When it comes to Netflix, at least when it was in the stage of commissioning a few years ago, it seems they opted for the latter. While Paramount+ may have become known as the home of Westerns thanks to Taylor Sheridan's hugely popular Yellowstone, the original streamer clearly wanted a piece of the pie.
Now, it's the turn of The Abandons, a seven-part series which was first ordered in 2022 and which, according to reports, has had quite the troubled path to the screen.
We also know that its creator Kurt Sutter, who had been thinking about the series before his previous show Sons of Anarchy even began, left it entirely just three weeks before shooting was set to wrap.
Naturally, although I attempted to put this history out of my mind when viewing the episodes, there is a part of me which was looking for signs of this apparent dysfunction in the final product, expecting one almighty mess to have been birthed. Thankfully, on that front, I have some good news.
While there are elements of this on display, with strange episode lengths and some abrupt endings, for the most part this is a competently put together series. If you didn't know, I doubt you'd know. However, sadly, I have to report there is actually a bigger problem with the series, one which cannot be ignored.
Headey's Fiona heads up a found family – the titular Abandons. She was unable to have her own children, and instead has raised a group of orphans and outcasts.
Other stars who play key roles include Nick Robinson, Diana Silvers, Lamar Johnson, Natalia Del Riego, Lucas Till and Aisling Franciosi, with all doing sterling work here.
So, what's the problem? Well, the truth of the matter is that The Abandons is just really rather dull.
Having watched all seven episode, once all is said and done, I have to say that very little of substance actually happened. There's an inciting incident, followed by a whole lot of pontificating and really rather mild family drama.
Perhaps the strongest of these storyline is a romance between Nick Robinson's Elias, a member of the Abandons, and Trisha, the Van Ness daughter.
It has some sweet moment and some dramatic moments for sure, and both actors give it their all, making it entirely watchable. Yet it's all just so utterly clichéd – if you haven't watched a star-crossed, forbidden lovers storyline you really haven't engaged with any form of art of media.
But when almost everything in a series falls into that camp, you start to wonder what exactly the point of it all is - especially when the whole thing is moving at such a glacial pace.
One would think that given it is led by two female leads in their fifties, it would at least have something novel and exciting to explore there. But, alas, there seems to be no interest in exploring what this means, given the time period and setting.
The series also takes itself far too seriously, meaning it's not only narratively dull, but also tonally.
As previously mentioned, there's also the matter of the cast – even if the majority of them, if not all of them, are really rather wasted.
Were we allowed to see more of this dynamic, perhaps with a slimmed down cast and more focused gaze, then that also could have helped the series stand out from the crowd. A proper cat-and-mouse game between two matriarchs in the 1800s? That sounds like an interesting show.
Maybe Western obsessives will find something to enjoy here – I have to confess that while I am certainly a big fan of a number of Western films and series, I am not a real devotee of the genre.
The fact that The Abandons is perfectly watchable and seems to be largely unencumbered by its behind-the-scenes shake-ups should be of some comfort for Netflix. However, if they thought this would be their rival to Yellowstone, think again. A franchise-starter this ain't – it's just a pale imitation of one.
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