‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ Trailer: David Oyelowo & Dennis Quaid Wrangle Wild West Outlaws (VIDEO)
David Oyelowo lays down the law of the land in Paramount+‘s Lawmen: Bass Reeves trailer, released Tuesday, October 10. Oyelowo stars as the titular lawmen, joined by Lauren E. Banks as Bass’s wife, Jennie Reeves, Donald Sutherland as Judge Parker, Dennis Quaid as Sheriff Sherrill Lynn, and more. And as the trailer above shows, protecting the land and its inhabitants is a violent affair.
Revealing the untold story of the most legendary lawman in the Old West, Lawmen: Bass Reeves 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. Premiering on November 5 on Paramount+, Lawmen: Bass Reeves is an all-new, standalone anthology series and future iterations will follow other iconic lawmen and outlaws who have impacted history.
Sutherland’s Judge Parker hires Bass as Sheriff in the trailer above, a job that sees him join forces with Quaid’s Sherrill, who’s more than happy to team up. The constant peril of the lawmen life is on full display as Bass is seen fighting off one outlaw after the other, and apparent flashbacks to the Civil War show that Bass has often been in the line of fire. While Bass has allies in law enforcement, there will be those who want to harm him and his family. Banks’ Jennie is seen bravely defending her home from men with torches and white hoods in the trailer.
Demi Singleton, Forrest Goodluck, and Barry Pepper also star in the series, with Shea Whigham and Garrett Hedlund as guest stars. In recurring roles are Joaquina Kalukango, Lonnie Chavis, Grantham Coleman, Tosin Morohunfola, Dale Dickey, Rob Morgan, Ryan O’Nan, Margot Bingham, Mo Brings Plenty, Justin Hurtt-Dunkleym and Bill Dawes. See the stars in character in the 1800s-style photos below.
Lawmen: Bass Reeves is executive by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, but it is not connected to the Yellowstone universe (despite it being set in a similar time period to 1883). It was created for television by executive producer and showrunner Chad Feehan, with Oyelowo executive producing in addition to starring. Oyelowo has been trying to tell the Bass Reeves story for seven years, and it finally came together with Feehan and Sheridan.
“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. Somewhere in my childhood that myth of Bass took firm root in my consciousness and never left,” Feehan said in a statement. “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.”
Feehan says the series aims to show “all the nooks and crannies of Bass’ remarkable life that aren’t regularly shared” and honor the legacy of the Deputy U.S. Marshal.
“Our story explores the lawman, the husband, the father,” Feehan continues. “It begins with enslavement and carries through Reconstruction to the first cruel whispers of Jim Crow; it contains some of the well-known tales, some of the untold tales and a fair share of fictional tales that fill-in the in-between. But more than anything, David, I and many others sought to tell a story about the human condition and its undeniable universality, the emotionality that connects all of us.”
Lawmen: Bass Reeves is also executive produced by 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 is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of Paramount+ international markets.
See Oyelowo, Quaid, Banks, Sutherland, and more in the tintype photos below.
Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Series Premiere, Sunday, November 5, Paramount+
David Oyelowo as Bass Reeves
Lauren E. Banks as Jennie Reeves
Jennie and Bass Reeves
Demi Singleton as Sally Reeves, Bass and Jennie's daughter
Donald Sutherland as Judge Parker
Dennis Quaid as Sherrill Lynn
Shea Whigham as George Reeves
Forrest Goodluck as Billy Crow
Barry Pepper as Esau Pierce
