Kurt Sutter’s period drama “The Bastard Executioner” is “heading” to series. FX has given a 10-episode order to the drama created by the “Sons of Anarchy” creator about a Late Middle Ages warrior knight who gets pulled back into fighting just when he thought he was out. Lee Jones plays titular executioner Wilkin Brattle, a warrior knight in King Edward I’s charge.
Sutter wrote the pilot. He is exec producing along with Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo and Paris Barclay. Barclay directed the pilot. Sutter also appears in the series, along with his wife, Katey Sagal, Stephen Moyer, Flora Spencer-Longhurst and Sam Spruell. The cast also includes Darren Evans, Danny Sapani, Timothy V. Murphy, Sarah White, Sarah Sweeney, Elen Rhys, Ethan Griffiths and Matthew Rhys.
“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,” Sutter said. “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.”
John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions, made the announcement and cited Sutter’s long history with the channel.
“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.”
The pilot was recently completed in Wales. Production will resume this summer before airing on FX this fall.
