Lawmen: Bass Reeves, telling the story of legendary titular figure who was the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. The series, which stars David Oyelowo and sees Yellowstone‘s Taylor Sheridan serve as an executive producer (Oyelowo is also an executive producer on the project) was originally billed as a spinoff of Yellowstone prequel 1883. However, that changed, with Lawmen: Bass Reeves later being established as its own, standalone project. Still, given Sheridan’s involvement, the previous announcement, and the appearance of Yellowstone actor Mo Brings Plenty in the new series, fans have wondered is the new series connected to the Yellowstone universe? The answer is not really.
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While the general setting — the American frontier at the end of the 19th century — is intersects with the start of the Dutton family saga, Lawmen: Bass Reeves‘ story predates 1883 and is not directly connected to the Duttons.
“But for me, once I learned some of the things I didn’t know about Bass’ life and decided where we wanted to start the story and where we wanted to end the story, it preceded 1883,” series creator and showrunner Chad Feehan explained. The eight-episode series will take place roughly from 1862 to 1877, ending six years before the start of the Dutton story.
Lawmen Is Set to Be An Anthology Series
Lawmen: Bass Reeves is also set to be the start of an entirely separate series of stories that center around other figures from history. Lawmen will be a series of standalone anthologies with future iterations that will follow other iconic lawmen and outlaws who have impacted history. Not being directly tied to the Yellowstone story makes that structure work quite a bit better.
What is Going On With The Final Episodes of Yellowstone?
On Friday, Yellowstone fans got an update about the long-waited final episodes of the fan-favorite series. The remaining episodes are now set to debut in November 2024. MTV Entertainment Studios and 1010 Studios also announced two new spinoff series with working titles 1944 and 2024.
“Within five years, we grew Yellowstone from a hit U.S. cable show with five million viewers into a global hit franchise with over 100 million fans around the world and multiple extensions – and, we’re just getting started,” said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios. “On the heels of 1883 and 1923’s success, our new planned spinoffs, 1944 and 2024, will take audiences on a thrilling, new and unexpected journey with the complex and compelling storytelling that has become a hallmark of the franchise and has helped turn it into a worldwide cultural phenomenon – thanks to the creative mastermind of Taylor Sheridan.”
“The global success of Yellowstone continues to thrill and excite us at 101 Studios and Bosque Ranch. This has been such an exhilarating ride with our partners at MTV Entertainment Studios and we can’t wait to bring 1944 and 2024 to audiences everywhere,” said David Glasser, CEO, 101 Studios.
New episodes of Lawmen: Bass Reeves debut Sundays on Paramount+.
