‘Bastard Executioner’ Ordered By FX: Kurt Sutter Drama Gets Green Light For Season 1
Fans of Kurt Sutter will be thrilled to know that FX has placed an first season order for The Bastard Executioner. The pick-up doesn’t come as a huge surprise given Sutter’s long-running relationship with the network, but the news is exciting for fans nonetheless. What’s the scoop?
Sutter has been working on The Bastard Executioner for months now, and it was known that FX was interested in at least a pilot episode. There is a mix of established and new talent working on the project, and filming of the pilot wrapped a bit ago.
According to Deadline, FX has ordered 10 episodes of the new period drama. The cast and crew will return to Wales over the summer to film the additional nine episodes. While a specific premiere date has not been revealed yet, it is expected that Bastard Executioner will begin airing sometime this fall.
As TVLine notes, Sutter’s wife and frequent project partner Katey Sagal will play a role in the new series. Steven Moyer of True Blood plays a character named Milus Corbett while The Americans star Matthew Rhys has a guest role as well. The main role, however, goes to an actor named Lee Jones, a newbie to American television. Sutter will have a role in the series too.
Sutter will be the show’s executive producer while his long-time right-hand man Paris Barclay will stick around to produce as well. The premise of this one is bloody, and fans of Sutter would expect nothing less.
The focus of the show is on a warrior knight, Wilkin Brattle, played by Lee Jones. Brattle says he will lay down his sword after being worn down and broken by war under King Edward I. However, refreshed violence pulls him back into war again, and it seems things will become more violent than ever before.
The series is set in the Middle Ages, and as Zap2It notes, Sutter relishes the opportunity to weave together blood, theology, and history with components of both fact and fiction. The writer, director, and executive producer has been partnering with FX and Fox 21 Television Studios on shows for more than two decades now, so few had any doubt this new show would move forward.
Sutter praises that the network is able to “embrace my extremely disturbing storytelling sensibilities,” and fans certainly embrace Sutter’s style as well. The Bastard Executioner is definitely a departure from Sutter’s prior shows in many ways, but the blood and storytelling will surely draw many in to check it out.
Will this be the next big hit for FX and Kurt Sutter? Fans are definitely intrigued by The Bastard Executioner and can’t wait for more details and a premiere date to emerge.
[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
