Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan’s latest series, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, is coming to Paramount+ in November, with the eagerly anticipated series telling the story of the legendary Bass Reeves, the first Black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River who, over the course of his career, made 3000 arrests without suffering a single wound. A significant historical figure, Reeves’ story is one that has slowly started to become more well-known and for series star David Oyelowo, the upcoming series is a chance to not only bring Reeves’ story further into the light, but to shine that light on the contributions of Black people to American History in a new way.
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“My goal, my hope, my ambition for this has always been to have an opportunity to contextualize the contribution of Black People to this country in a way that colors outside of the lines of what we have normally seen,” Oyelowo, who also serves as a producer on the series, told Entertainment Weekly.
What is Lawmen: Bass Reeves about?
Lawmen: Bass Reeves brings the legendary lawman of the wild west to life. Reeves (Oyelowo), known as the greatest frontier hero in American history and possibly inspiration for “The Lone Ranger,” worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded. The series was previously announced in 2021 as a standalone show, before being officially folded into the Yellowstone canon last summer.
“The stories Jess and I want to tell are boundary-busting and full of folks the likes of whom we have seldom seen on screen,” Oyelowo explained at the time. “The extraordinary story of Bass Reeves exemplifies just that. To collaborate with world-class talent like Taylor Sheridan to tell those stories to the widest audience possible, is our dream, and we believe that can and will be realized through the shared ambitions we have with ViacomCBS and its signature branded platforms, alongside our seasoned and brilliant producing partners at 101 Studios.”
“David and Jessica are incredibly talented artists and we’re excited to develop our Bass Reeves project together with them and our phenomenal partner Taylor Sheridan,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group said at the time. “As the first Black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River, Reeves’ story is monumental, and this limited series will bring to light one of the greatest frontier heroes in our country’s history.”
“Bass Reeves was an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life at an extraordinary time in American history,” Oyelowo told Entertainment Weekly. “He was enslaved, he went on to fight in the Civil War, he escaped enslavement during that time, lived with Native Americans for a number of years where he learned a bunch of skills that became applicable when he went on to be a deputy marshal, and had a career that spanned nearly 40 years in law enforcement.”
Who Stars in Lawmen: Bass Reeves?
In addition to Oyelowo, the series will star Yellowstone star Mo Brings Plenty as Minco Dodge, Dale Dickey as Widow Dolliver, Tosin Morohunfola as “Jackrabbit Cole, and Margot Bingham as Sarah Jumper. They join previously announced cast including Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Barry Pepper, Dennis Quaid, Forrest Goodluck, Grantham Coleman, and Donald Sutherland.
Lawmen: Bass Reeves debuts on Paramount+ on November 5th.
