By
Angel Shaw
Published 22 minutes ago
Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Peer Mentor on ScreenRant's New TV team, covering new-release TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy.
Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).
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Game of Thrones' Lena Headey has a new TV series on the way in December of 2025, and it looks like the perfect replacement for her previous iconic role. Headey's career began long before she played the despicable Cersei Lannister, with memorable roles in projects like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 300, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and more. Still, the conflicted, political dynamic of Game of Thrones was the perfect chance for Headey to demonstrate her strengths as an actor.
From 2011 to 2019, Headey made it all too easy to hate Game of Thrones' Cersei Lannister. This character was lovely and elegant, but caniving, murderous, and cruel. Headey's nuanced performance allowed us to, at times, even empathize with the character. Her motivations were selfish, but Cersei fought hard for what she felt was hers. Now, it appears that Headey will have a chance to bring her acting prowess to a similar sort of dynamic.
Lena Headey's The Abandons Has Intriguing Similarities To Game Of Thrones
Lena Headey in The Abandons wearing a hat and looking seriousCredit: MovieStillsDB
Netflix's The Abandons, created by Kurt Sutter and starring Headey alongside Gillian Anderson, is a Western drama series set in the 1950s. The show revolves around Headey's character Fiona Nolan, an Irish woman who settles in Oregon with her four adopted children. However, she quickly finds herself challenged by several outlaw groups, including a family of European aristocrats attempting to claim Fiona's home.
The Abandons releases on Netflix on December 4, 2025.
Though there's nothing quite so different from a fantasy than a Western, there are some intriguing parallels between Game of Thrones and Headey's new The Abandons. Once again, we should see this actor give all she has to protect herself and her family as different groups attempt to lay claim to something she believes is hers. Rather than a throne as it is in Game of Thrones, this Netflix Western places characters at odds over Oregon land.
A Western TV Show Is The Last Thing We Expected For Lena Headey
Lena Headey as Fiona Nolan in Netflix's The Abandons
Headey's career has taken her across a variety of genres. She's no stranger to the dark and gritty and even seems to thrive in these sorts of films and movies. Headey developed a reputation, for a time, as the "strong wife" archetype, reinforced by her roles in 300 and, of course, Game of Thrones. Recent years have seen the actor lend her voice to a variety of animated characters. Headey's done sci-fi, drama, historical fiction, and more, but the Western genre is a new frontier.
Headey will leave elegance, villainy, and even typical edginess behind in The Abandons. Her character, Fiona, appears rough and strong, but also morally devout. It will be interesting to see what Headey brings to the role. We may see flashes of Cersei's intensity, but Fiona may require even more nuance. Regardless, The Abandons is clearly something to be excited about.
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Like Follow Followed Game Of Thrones TV-MA Drama Action Adventure Fantasy
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Release Date
2011 - 2019-00-00
Showrunner
David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
Cast
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Kit Harington
Jon Snow
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Isaac Hempstead Wright
Brandon Bran Stark
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The Abandons
Action
Drama
Release Date
December 4, 2025
Network
Netflix
Cast
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Lena Headey
Constance Van Ness
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Gillian Anderson
Fiona Nolan
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Lucas Till
Albert Mason
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Aisling Franciosi
Trisha Van Ness
The Abandons is a television series set in the American West during the 1850s. Created by Kurt Sutter, it follows a group of families fighting to maintain their land and way of life against powerful forces threatening to displace them. The ensemble cast, headlined by Lena Headey, explores themes of survival, justice, and community in a lawless frontier era.
Genres Action, Drama Powered by
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The Abandons
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Game of Thrones
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