WGN America was always a weird experiment in cable television. It tried to be the next AMC, and for a hot second with Outsiders, it almost got there. If you ever spent time in the fictional Blackburg, Kentucky, you know the vibe. It was muddy. It was brutal. It was basically Sons of Anarchy if they traded the Harley-Davidsons for ATVs and lived on a big, forbidden hill. Honestly, the cast of the tv show outsiders is probably why the show still has a cult following years after it was unceremoniously canceled. You had these heavy hitters from prestige drama and character actors who look like they actually haven’t seen a shower in three weeks.
The Farrell Clan wasn't just a group of actors in flannel. They felt like a legitimate, terrifying ecosystem. When the show premiered in 2016, it pulled in nearly 3 million viewers, which for WGN, was like winning the Super Bowl. But then the network shifted strategy, and the show vanished. But the people? They didn't.
David Morse as Big Foster: The Grumpy King
David Morse is one of those actors you recognize from a dozen different things but can never quite place unless you’re a die-hard fan of The Green Mile or St. Elsewhere. He’s tall. He’s imposing. In Outsiders, he played Big Foster, a man who was essentially a Shakespearean villain in a Carhartt jacket. Morse has this specific way of taking up space in a room—or a forest—that makes everyone else look small.
Since the show ended, Morse hasn't slowed down. He’s been in The Morning Show and did some incredible work in The Deuce. What’s wild is that Morse actually did a lot of his own presence-building on set. He wasn't just reading lines. He was cultivating that specific, jagged authority that defined the Farrells. You see him now in interviews and he's this incredibly soft-spoken, thoughtful guy. It’s a total 180 from the man who was willing to let his own kin die for power.
Ryan Hurst and the Post-Sons Shadow
Most people came for Ryan Hurst. Let's be real. He was Opie Winston in Sons of Anarchy, and for a certain segment of the TV-watching public, that makes him royalty. As Lil Foster, he had to play a very different kind of role. He was the muscle, sure, but he was a broken muscle. He spent a lot of the series under the thumb of Big Foster, and Hurst played that vulnerability with a lot of grit.
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If you’ve followed him since the show, you know he went full villain for a while. He showed up in The Walking Dead as Beta, wearing a mask made of human skin. It’s a far cry from the woods of Kentucky. He also voiced Thor in the God of War Ragnarök video game. He’s got that voice. You know the one. It sounds like two boulders grinding together. Honestly, Hurst is the soul of the cast of the tv show outsiders because he bridged the gap between the "tough guy" trope and actual, emotional acting.
Gillian Alexy and the Outsider Perspective
Geryn was the character who usually got the short end of the stick in terms of plot safety, but Gillian Alexy made her indispensable. She was the "outsider" within the Outsiders. Alexy is Australian, which surprises a lot of people because her Appalachian accent was surprisingly tight. It’s not easy to do that specific Kentucky twang without sounding like a cartoon character.
Since the show, she’s popped up in The Blacklist and a few other procedurals. She’s one of those actors who is constantly working but stays under the radar. In the show, her chemistry with Joe Anderson (Asa Farrell) was the only thing that felt remotely like a "normal" TV plot amidst the moonshine and the ritualistic stabbings.
Why the Cast of the TV Show Outsiders Worked When the Script Didn't
There were moments where the writing in Outsiders felt a little... lost. Sometimes it leaned too hard into the "magic" of the mountain, and other times it was a standard police procedural. But the actors kept it grounded.
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- Joe Anderson (Asa Farrell): He had that haunted, lean look. He’d been to the "civilized" world and came back. Anderson is a chameleon. He was in Hannibal, and he played Mason Verger after Michael Pitt left. That takes guts.
- Thomas M. Wright (Sheriff Wade Houghton): Probably the best performance in the whole series. Wright is an Australian actor who specializes in playing men who are falling apart at the seams. His portrayal of a pill-popping, terrified sheriff was the most realistic part of the show. He recently directed The Stranger on Netflix, which is a masterpiece of tension.
The dynamic between the town and the mountain worked because the actors in the town—specifically Wright—played it with genuine fear. If the sheriff isn't scared of the wild men on the hill, why should the audience be?
The Supporting Players Who Stole the Scenes
You can't talk about the cast of the tv show outsiders without mentioning the late Phyllis Somerville. She played Lady Ray, the matriarch. She had this ethereal, terrifying stillness. When she died in 2020, the acting world lost a powerhouse. She was the one who gave the show its "prestige" feel in the first season.
Then there’s Christina Jackson as Sally-Ann. Her storyline was the most grounded—a black woman from the town falling for a Farrell (Hasil, played by Kyle Gallner). Kyle Gallner is everywhere lately. He’s become a bit of a "Scream King" in the horror world, starring in Smile and the 2022 Scream reboot. Back then, he was just the kid with the long hair and the sweet disposition who happened to be part of a mountain cult.
What Actually Happened to the Production?
People often ask if the show was filmed in Kentucky. It wasn't. They shot mostly in Pennsylvania, around the Pittsburgh area. The locations were real, though. They weren't using many soundstages for the mountain scenes. That meant the cast was actually out there in the mud, dealing with the elements.
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The show was canceled not because of ratings—they were actually decent—but because WGN America's parent company, Tribune Media, was being bought out. The new owners didn't want high-budget original scripted dramas. They wanted cheaper, unscripted content and repeats. It was a business casualty, plain and simple. It left the cast in the lurch just as the story was getting to the "all-out war" phase.
Where to Find Them Now
If you’re looking to scratch that itch, you have to follow the actors into their new projects.
- Kyle Gallner: Watch Strange Darling or The Passenger. He’s matured into one of the best indie actors working today.
- Thomas M. Wright: Look up his directorial work. He has a very specific, dark vision that feels like a more refined version of the Outsiders atmosphere.
- Ryan Hurst: He’s been doing the convention circuit and still maintains that massive beard. He’s very active on social media and stays connected with the "Farrell" fanbase.
The Legacy of the Farrells
The cast of the tv show outsiders represents a moment in time when cable networks were taking massive risks on weird, niche stories. It wasn't perfect. It was messy. But the ensemble was top-tier. Even the smaller roles, like Francie Swift as Haylie Grimes, added layers of corporate greed that balanced out the mountain mysticism.
The show tried to tell a story about land rights, isolationism, and the clash between old ways and new money. It’s more relevant now than it was in 2016. If you go back and rewatch it on Hulu or wherever it’s streaming this week, pay attention to the background characters. The "S'ayn" and the different family tiers were all cast with people who had theater backgrounds, which is why the chanting and the rituals didn't feel as cheesy as they could have.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're still obsessing over the Farrells, here is how you can actually engage with the work of the cast of the tv show outsiders today:
- Track the "Pittsburgh Pipeline": Many of the local actors used as extras in Outsiders have appeared in other Pittsburgh-filmed projects like Mayor of Kingstown. If you like the grit of the show, check out other Taylor Sheridan-adjacent productions.
- Follow Kyle Gallner's Indie Career: He is the most active "breakout" from the younger cast. His film choices are consistently bold and usually involve high-tension scripts.
- Search for Thomas M. Wright’s The Stranger: If you want to see the "Sheriff" at the peak of his creative powers, this film is essential viewing. It carries the same DNA of dread that Outsiders cultivated.
- Check Out the Creator's Newer Work: Peter Mattei, the creator, has a very specific voice. While he hasn't had another massive hit like Outsiders, his focus on "outsider" cultures continues in his writing and photography.
The Farrells might be gone from our screens, but the actors who breathed life into them are currently dominating the character-actor landscape in Hollywood. It was a lightning-in-a-bottle casting situation that deserved at least three more seasons to truly finish the fight for Shay Mountain.