Cr: Ollie Upton/FX
Steel yourself for a gripping and brutal journey through the Late Middle Ages as FX has ordered a 10-episode first season of Kurt Sutter’s new series The Bastard Executioner, it was announced today by John Landgraf, CEO, FX Networks and FX Productions. Sutter and an impressive cast recently completed production of the pilot in Wales, where production will resume this summer before airing on FX this fall.
A period drama, The Bastard Executioner tells the story of a warrior knight in King Edward I’s charge who is broken by the ravages of war and vows to lay down his sword. But when that violence finds him again he is forced to pick up the bloodiest sword of all.
“From his important contributions to The Shield to his epic run on Sons of Anarchy, Kurt has been one of FX’s most visionary artists, and we are proud to get him back on the air so soon after the unquestionable success of Sons,” said Landgraf. “The Bastard Executioner has lined up an extraordinary creative team, with Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo and Paris Barclay joining Kurt as Executive Producers and an amazing cast led by Katey Sagal, Stephen Moyer and Lee Jones in the signature role as the Executioner himself. We knew they could deliver something special and, under the expert direction of Paris, they did just that. The fans can’t wait for the first season, and neither can we.”
“Kurt Sutter and Brian Grazer have been spectacular creative partners — and dear friends — to our studio for years, and their collaboration has resulted in a fantastic and epic new series,” commented Fox Television Group Chairmen and CEOs Gary Newman and Dana Walden, whose Fox 21 TV Studios will produce the project with FX Productions. “The Bastard Executioner, written by Kurt and directed by the talented Paris Barclay, is dangerous, brilliant, emotional and undeniable. This is the perfect follow-up to Sons and another huge event series for FX from Fox 21TVS and FXP. Viewers are in for a wild and spellbinding ride.”
Added Sutter, “I love history. I love theology. I love blood. It’s been very satisfying weaving fact and fiction to create a new mythology that combines all these elements. And with this extraordinary cast — Stephen Moyer, Katey Sagal and newcomer, Lee Jones — this world explodes on screen. I love working with FX and Fox21TVS. They’ve been my family for 15 years. They not only tolerate me, they embrace my extremely disturbing storytelling sensibilities.”
The Bastard Executioner features series regulars Lee Jones, Stephen Moyer, Katey Sagal, Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Kurt Sutter, Sam Spruell, Darren Evans, Danny Sapani, Timothy V. Murphy, Sarah White, Sarah Sweeney, Elen Rhys, Ethan Griffiths and guest star Matthew Rhys.
The Bastard Executioner was created by Kurt Sutter, who will serve as Executive Producer along with award-winning producers Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo and Paris Barclay. Sutter wrote the script for the pilot of The Bastard Executioner, which was directed by Barclay. The project is being produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions.
Sutter was the Creator/Showrunner of Sons of Anarchy, which concluded its seven-season run on FX in December with the most-watched season in its entire run in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (11.7 million average total viewers, and 7.5 million Adults 18-49).
ABOUT FX
FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable channel of FX Networks, a business unit of 21ST Century Fox. FX Networks is comprised of FX, FXM and FXX. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in 95 million homes. The diverse schedule features a growing roster of critically-acclaimed and award-winning hit dramas series, including The Americans, Tyrant, The Strain and the upcoming Taboo; the critically-acclaimed miniseries American Horror Story, Fargo and the upcoming miniseries American Crime Story; acclaimed hit comedy series including the award-winning Louie, Archer, Married, The Comedians and the upcoming Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll and Baskets. FX is the former home of the critically-acclaimed and award winning hit drama series The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, Damages and Sons of Anarchy and Justified. The network’s library of acquired box-office hit movies is unmatched by any ad-supported television network. FX’s roster of acquired hit series includes Two and a Half Men, In Living Color and Mike & Molly.
ABOUT FX PRODUCTIONS
FX Productions (FXP) produces FX’s acclaimed hit drama series The Strain; the comedy series Louie, Archer, Married and the upcoming Baskets, and the FXX comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, You’re the Worst, Man Seeking Woman and the upcoming comedy The Untitled Tracy Morgan Project (TBD). FXP co-produces the drama series The Americans, Tyrant and the upcoming Taboo; the miniseries Fargo, which scored 18 Emmy® Award nominations and won the Emmy award for Outstanding Miniseries; the upcoming miniseries American Crime Story; and the comedies The Comedians and Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll. In 2014, FXP shows combined to deliver 28 Emmy Award nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Miniseries, and Outstanding Animated Program.
ABOUT FOX 21 TELEVISION STUDIOS
The newly formed Fox 21 Television Studios is a production unit housed within Fox Television Group devoted to making creatively ambitious scripted and unscripted series for all distribution platforms. Fox 21 Television Studios currently produces the Emmy and Golden Globe winning Homeland, starring Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin, the critically acclaimed The Americans (with FX Productions) starring Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, Brannon Braga and Adam Simon’s supernatural hit Salem, Howard Gordon’s Tyrant, Legends from Howard Gordon and Jonathan Levin, Jeff Eastin’s Graceland and Matt Nix’s Complications. The studio recently began production on Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson’s American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson and Kurt Sutter, Brian Grazer and Paris Barclay’s The Bastard Executioner (with FX productions). Fox 21 TVS starts production on Dice, from Scot Armstrong, Sean Furst, Bryan Furst, Richard Shepard, Bruce Rubenstein and Andrew Dice Clay, and M.A. Fortin, Joshua John Miller, David Friendly and Pancho Mansfield’s Queen of the South later this year.