Netflix celebrated the premiere of “The Abandons” on December 3 at the Tudum Theater with a Western-themed red carpet that had the buzzy fun feeling of a family reunion. Red carpets tend to blur together, but this one had a strange consistency to it. Reporting for The Knockturnal, almost everyone I spoke to ended up talking about the same thing: cowboy camp.
Created by Kurt Sutter, The Abandons is set in Washington Territory in 1854 and follows two opposing matriarchs whose families clash over land, loyalty, and survival. But standing on the carpet, the plot felt almost beside the point. What the cast actually wanted to talk about was the physical work, and how much it changed the way they related to one another before filming even began. It came up again and again, unprompted.
Diana Silvers lit up immediately when cowboy camp came up. “My horse Rusty was the greatest gift ever,” she said, explaining that what initially sounded daunting quickly became something she loved. “It was honestly the two best weeks of my life. We learned how to lasso, steer wagons, cut cows.” She described her character as “tough, brave, misunderstood,” and admitted she tried to take Rusty home. “I wanted to,” she laughed. “But I guess I need season two for that.”
Natalia del Riego described riding as something that forced her out of her head. “It forced me into the present,” she said. “My character, Lilla Belle, is really one with her horse.” She spoke about Lilla losing her family at eight years old, and how that loss defines everything that follows. “There’s a before and an after,” she said, describing the series as driven by betrayal, love, and constant tension.
Gillian Anderson described her character as a sharp departure from previous roles, like her character Jean in Sex Education. “She’s ruthless, and she feels like she has a righteous pursuit,” Anderson said. “She believes she’s doing good for America and is focused on the bigger picture.” It is her first time playing a true villain, something she spoke about with clear enthusiasm. She also took a moment to praise Lena Headey, saying, “I was so impressed with her and what she brought to every scene. We have some fair showdowns.”
Headey described her own character differently. “Mine is more grounded. More earthy,” she said, before adding, “I also got to fist fight, which was fun.” This was said very plainly, like it was just another perk of the job.
By the end of the night, what stood out most wasn’t the Western theming or the scale of the production, but how often the cast described learning how to function together before they ever stepped on set. Cowboy camp came up too frequently to feel like a throwaway anecdote. It seemed to be the thing that leveled everyone out before they had to play family on screen.
The Abandons premieres December 4 on Netflix.