Lawmen: Bass Reeves

Last updated
Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Genre
Created byChad Feehan [1]
Based on
  • Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves: The Bass Reeves Trilogy, Book One
    by Sidney Thompson
  • Hell on the Border: The Bass Reeves Trilogy, Book Two
    by Sidney Thompson
Directed by
  • Christina Alexandra Voros
  • Damian Marcano
Starring
Theme music composer Chanda Dancy [2]
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
Running time32–57 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network Paramount+
ReleaseNovember 5 (2023-11-05) 
December 17, 2023 (2023-12-17)

Lawmen: Bass Reeves is an American Western television miniseries created by Chad Feehan, who also serves as showrunner, and executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, Feehan, David C. Glasser, David Oyelowo, Jessica Oyelowo, David Permut, Christina Alexandra Voros, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, and David Hutkin. [1] It is based on the life of the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River, Bass Reeves. [3] The series premiered on Paramount+ on November 5, 2023, with back-to-back episodes. [4]

Contents

Cast

Main

Recurring

Guest

Episodes

No.Title [6] Directed byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Part I"Christina Alexandra VorosTeleplay by: Chad FeehanNovember 5, 2023 (2023-11-05)
2"Part II"Christina Alexandra VorosJewel CoronelNovember 5, 2023 (2023-11-05)
3"Part III"Christina Alexandra VorosJacob Forman & Ning ZhouNovember 12, 2023 (2023-11-12)
4"Part IV"Damian MarcanoJ. Todd ScottNovember 19, 2023 (2023-11-19)
5"Part V"Damian MarcanoTerence AnthonyNovember 26, 2023 (2023-11-26)
6"Part VI"Damian MarcanoJacob FormanDecember 3, 2023 (2023-12-03)
7"Part VII"Christina Alexandra VorosChad Feehan & K.C. ScottDecember 10, 2023 (2023-12-10)
8"Part VIII"Christina Alexandra VorosChad FeehanDecember 17, 2023 (2023-12-17)

Production

Development

It was announced in September 2021 that Taylor Sheridan was developing a television series based on Reeves, with David Oyelowo set to star in the role. [7] In May 2022, the series was ordered at Paramount+ and was temporarily named 1883: The Bass Reeves Story. It was initially described as a spinoff of the series 1883 , itself a prequel to Yellowstone , [8] but has since been confirmed to no longer take place in the Yellowstone universe. [9] [10] The show is heavily based on the first two books of The Bass Reeves Trilogy by Sidney Thompson: Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves, and Hell on the Border. [11]

Casting

Dennis Quaid joined the cast in January 2023. [12] Forrest Goodluck, Lauren E. Banks and Barry Pepper were cast in February, [13] [14] with Grantham Coleman and Demi Singleton added the following month. [15] [16] Garrett Hedlund was also cast. [17] In April, the series was retitled Lawmen: Bass Reeves in order to expand the series to depict other prominent lawmen, with Donald Sutherland, Joaquina Kalukango, Lonnie Chavis, Rob Morgan, Ryan O'Nan, Justin Hurtt-Dunkley and Shea Whigham joining the cast in recurring roles. [18]

Filming

Filming for the series began in Fort Worth, Texas in October 2022. [19] In January 2023, Quaid stated he had begun filming for the series. [20] Filming wrapped by early June 2023. [21]

Release

Lawmen: Bass Reeves premiered on Paramount+ on November 5, 2023. [1] The first two episodes of the series then aired on CBS on November 12. [22]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 81% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's consensus reads: "With David Oyelowo capably stepping into the stirrups of Bass Reeves, this gritty procedural is slow to the draw but hits its mark nonetheless." [23] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 65 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [24]

Awards and nominations

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
Black Reel Awards August 13, 2024 Outstanding Television Movie or Limited Series Lawmen: Bass ReevesWon [25]
Outstanding Lead Performance in a TV Movie/Limited Series David Oyelowo Won
Outstanding Writing in a TV Movie or Limited SeriesTerence Anthony (for "Part V")Nominated
Outstanding Musical Score Chanda Dancy Nominated
Outstanding EditingMichael SchultzNominated
Outstanding Makeup & HairstylingKelley CurryNominated
Outstanding Production DesignWynn ThomasWon
Astra TV Awards August 18, 2024 Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie David Oyelowo Nominated [26]
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards September 7-8, 2024 Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) Chanda Dancy (for "Part I")Pending [27]

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References

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