Netflix is set to begin filming a western series with a star-studded cast in Calgary this month.
The Abandons, created by Kurt Sutter from Sons of Anarchy fame, follows “a group of diverse renegade families living on the fringes of society in 1850s Oregon.”
“The Western series will explore the jagged line between survival and law, the consequences of violence, and the corrosive power of secrets as this makeshift family battles to keep what’s theirs,” Netflix said in an April cast announcement.
The series is scheduled to film from May 14 to Oct. 18 in Calgary, according to the ACTRA Alberta shooting schedule.
The series features an ensemble cast starring Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson.
Anderson is perhaps best known for her role as Dana Scully on The X Files , as well as Margaret Thatcher on The Crown and Jean Milburn on Sex Education , while Lena Headey played Cersei Lanni ster on Game of Thrones and Queen Gorgo in 300.
According to Netflix, Headey will play Fiona Nolan, a “strong-willed matriarch who adopts four orphans and will stop at nothing to protect her family.”
Anderson will play a very different strong-willed matriarch, Constance Van Ness, “who will stop at nothing to protect and grow the mining fortune she inherited from her husband and then doubled — she aims to consolidate the Van Ness clan’s power in the ruthless, unforgiving frontier.”
Netflix held a Calgary casting call in April for “authentic looks, unique character faces, hard-working types, blue collar looks, blacksmiths, rancher types, labourer types, butchers, upscale affluent looks and amputees.”
With files from CTV News Calgary’s Melissa Gilligan