Lawmen follows the journey of Reeves (Oyelowo) and his rise from enslavement to law enforcement as the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. Despite arresting over 3,000 outlaws during the course of his career, the weight of the badge was heavy, and he wrestled with its moral and spiritual cost to his beloved family.
Future versions of the anthology series will follow other iconic lawmen and outlaws who influenced history. The first season of Lawmen premieres with two episodes on Sunday, November 5.
“Growing up in Texas, I heard a lot of stories about Bass Reeves. They were always akin to a dime novel hero with incredibly fanciful flourishes of a gunslinging lawman pursuing the most-hardened outlaws in the Wild West,” said Chad Feehan, who created Bass Reeves and also serves as showrunner/EP. “Somewhere in my childhood that myth of Bass took firm root in my consciousness and never left. Then one day, not too long ago, David Oyelowo invited me to dinner. Over the course of our meal, he explained his seven-year journey to tell Bass’s story, where the myth of the man both converged with and separated from reality, and why Bass’s life was more relevant than ever.”
“I immediately went home and scoured the internet, read books and listened to podcasts,” Feehan continued. “I became obsessed with what I didn’t know, with all of the nooks and crannies of Bass’ remarkable life that aren’t regularly shared, as well as with revisiting the often-told tales through a now-adult lens. That spark of obsession morphed into a raging Fire of determination, fueled by my desire to play a role, no matter how big or small, and assist David in honoring the legacy of Deputy US Marshal Bass Reeves.”
Lawmen: Bass Reeves is also produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Jessica Oyelowo, David Permut, Christina Alexandra Voros, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari and David Hutkin.
The series is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Sheridan's Bosque Ranch Productions and Oyelowo's Yoruba Saxon and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of Paramount+ international markets.
You can watch the official trailer for Lawmen: Bass Reeves below.
