Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey to star in Netflix western

Netflix has announced a new western series, The Abandon, starring a duo that have instantly set queer hearts fluttering: Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey.

The western genre is having a moment.

Paramount drama series Yellowstone has been one of the biggest hits of recent years – sending conservative viewers into a furious frenzy last year with a a lesbian kiss – while Pedro Almodóvar’s 30-minute short Strange Way of Life, starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke, has sparked endless discourse.

Now, there’s new Netflix series The Abandons on the horizon. Admittedly, not a whole lot is known about the series yet, so whether there is any explicit LGBTQ+ representation is yet to be discovered. 

What we do know is that the series will be led by Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, and it’s now been announced that Sex Education and The Crown actor Gillian Anderson will also have a major role.

Set in Oregon during the 1850s, The Abandons will share the story of a group of “diverse families” who are forced to fight for their land.

Headey, who accrued both an Emmy and a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, will play Fiona, the “devout” mother of four orphaned children. 

Anderson will star as Constance Van Ness, the matriarchy of a wealthy family who have just doubled their wealth after inheriting Constance’s husband’s mining fortune.

According to the Netflix synopsis, Constance wants more money, and more power – and she will stop at nothing to get it. It sounds like Constance will clash with Fiona and her family, as she attempts to displace them from their land, with blood spilled as a result. 

Oregon during the 1850s isn’t exactly known as a time of intense queer celebration, but nevertheless, there’s still a crumb of hope for LGBTQ+ representation if the phrase “diverse families” is anything to look towards.

Regardless, the two leading ladies have a history of making sapphics sweat, whether their characters are explicitly queer or not. 

Anderson, for example, has an impressive history of giving women their LGBTQ+ awakening, and it’s a talent that she is very much aware of.

In particular, Anderson’s roles that have seemingly turned a generation of women queer include her FBI special agent Dana Scully in ‘90s sci-fi series The X-Files, her turn as bisexual Stella Gibson in BBC Two show The Fall, and most recently, her legendary sex therapist Jean Milburn in Netflix’s Sex Education.

Meanwhile, Lena Headey did an excellent job of providing some timid Victorian lesbian representation as Blanche Glover in 2002 film Possession, and queer florist visibility in 2005’s Imagine Me & You.

As anticipated, queer women of the internet have reacted to the news with pure, unbridled joy.

“Gillian Anderson AND Lena Headey? They could be reading the phone book, and the lesbians would be there. So this? Obviously,” one fan shared.

“Sounds gay, I’m in,” wrote another person, while another declared: “If it’s not gay, I’m mad.”