Your next Taylor Sheridan obsession is nearly here. Paramount+ has just revealed the first trailer for “Lawean: Bass Reeves,” starring and produced by David Oyelowo, as well as the premiere date for the new series – Nov. 5. You can watch the trailer above.
Based on the true story of Bass Reeves, one of the first Black deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi River (and the likely inspiration for the Lone Ranger), this is also the beginning of a new anthology series from Sheridan that will look at different law men through history.
Sheridan, of course, is the creator and overseer of “Yellowstone” and its various offshoots (like “1883” and “1923,” plus the upcoming “6666”) and other Paramount+ blockbusters like “Mayor of Kingstown,” “Tulsa King” and the recent “Special Ops: Lioness.” Chad Feehan created “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” which at one point was being eyed (and was even announced) as a spin-off of “1883,” before becoming its own series (and potential franchise).
Dennis Quaid, Forrest Goodluck, Barry Pepper, Lauren E. Banks and Demi Singleton star alongside Oyelowo, with Garrett Hedlund, Donald Sutherland, Dale Dickey, Shea Whigham, Joaquina Kalukango and Rob Morgan appearing in recurring roles.
“Lawmen: Bass Reeves” is said to be heavily influenced by two recent, award-winning Bass Reeves historical novels by American academic Sidney Thompson – “Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves” and “Hell on the Border.” Reeves was also a minor figure in HBO’s recent “Watchmen,” where he was played by Jamal Akakpo in a series of silent films, serving as the kind of prototypical hero that would inspire not only the Lone Ranger but the more modern vigilantes in the series. Another Reeves series, ordered by Amazon Studios last year, will be produced by Morgan Freeman and titled “Twin Territories” (based on Arthur T. Burton’s 2006 biography “Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves “).
“Lawmen: Bass Reeves” rides into Paramount+ on Nov. 5.
