Lawmen: Bass Reeves key art
Lawmen: Bass Reeves poster
CompleteTelevision · 2023 · Paramount+

Lawmen: Bass Reeves

The western that was almost a Yellowstone spinoff — and the one Sheridan did not write.

Sheridan's credit: Executive producer

Quick answer

Lawmen: Bass Reeves is the 2023 Paramount+ western about the first Black deputy US marshal west of the Mississippi, starring David Oyelowo. Taylor Sheridan executive produced; Chad Feehan created and ran it, and it was developed for a time as a 1883 spinoff before being separated from the Yellowstone universe.

What Lawmen: Bass Reeves Is

Bass Reeves was a real man: born enslaved, he escaped, lived among the Cherokee, Seminole and Creek nations, and went on to make thousands of arrests as a deputy US marshal in Indian Territory. David Oyelowo, who spent years developing the project and also executive produced, plays him.

The series began life inside the Yellowstone machine — it was announced as 1883: The Bass Reeves Story before Paramount detached it and rebranded it as the first instalment of a planned Lawmen anthology. Sheridan's credit is executive producer; the writing and showrunning belong to Chad Feehan.

That distinction matters for anyone browsing his catalogue expecting his voice. Bass Reeves is slower, more historical and more interior than Sheridan's own scripts, and it is deliberately closer to biography than to genre.

Eight episodes aired from November 2023. Further Lawmen instalments have been discussed but nothing has been dated, and the Sheridan slate has moved on to other projects since.

Why Yellowstone Fans Should Care

This is the closest thing to a Yellowstone-adjacent show outside the universe proper: it was conceived as an 1883 spinoff, carries the same period-western production values, and shares the franchise's interest in what the frontier cost the people who were not white men on horseback.

Paramount ultimately separated it, so nothing in Bass Reeves touches the Dutton timeline. If 1883 is your favourite thing Sheridan has been near, this is the obvious next watch.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves FAQ

Is Lawmen: Bass Reeves a Yellowstone spinoff?

It was developed as one — announced as 1883: The Bass Reeves Story — but Paramount separated it before release. The finished series is not part of the Yellowstone universe.

Did Taylor Sheridan write Bass Reeves?

No. Chad Feehan created and wrote the series; Sheridan is credited as an executive producer.

Was Bass Reeves a real person?

Yes. Born into slavery, he became one of the first Black deputy US marshals west of the Mississippi and made a documented career of arrests in Indian Territory.

Is there a Season 2?

No second instalment has been dated. Lawmen was set up as an anthology, so any continuation would likely follow a different lawman.

Not a Yellowstone Spinoff

Lawmen: Bass Reeves shares a creator with the Dutton saga, not a timeline. If you came looking for the ranch, the full universe guide — eight series, one family tree — is a click away.

Explore the Yellowstone universe