David Oyelowo stars as the legendary slave-turned-lawman in the limited-run series premiering Nov. 5.
Both the potential employer and the ambitious applicant are nothing if not blunt-spoken during the job interview. “I need a man,” says Judge Isaac Parker, “with a good gun and a straight spine. You up to the task?” Bass Reeves, a prime contender for the job of Deputy U.S. Marshal, immediately replies: “I wouldn’t be sitting here in my Sunday best if I wasn’t.”
The straightforward exchange is a highlight of the attention-grabbing trailer released Tuesday by Paramount+ for Lawmen: Bass Reeves, the eagerly awaited limited-run Western series set to premiere Nov. 5 on the streaming service. David Oyelowo (Selma) stars as Reeves, the legendary slave-turned-lawman credited with arresting over 3,000 outlaws during the course of his career as the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi, and serves as executive producer along with Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone), David C. Glasser, Jessica Oyelowo, David Permut, Christina Alexandra Voros, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari and David Hutkin.
Among the other notables in the cast: Veteran actor and Honorary Academy Award-winner Donald Sutherland as Judge Parker; Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Dennis Quaid as Deputy U.S. Marshal Sherrill Lynn; Lauren E. Banks (City on a Hill) as Jennie Reeves, Bass’ strong-willed and fiercely loyal wife; Forrest Goodluck as Billy Crow, a young Cherokee man with an affinity for dime store books and gaudy style; Demi Singleton (King Richard) as Sally Reeves, Bass and Jennie’s precocious daughter; Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan) as Esau Pierce, leader of the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles and a battle-tested warrior; Dale Dickey (Winter’s Bone, A Love Song) as Widow Dolliver, an old woman who has seen it all, and who does not waste time suffering fools; and C&I reader favorite Mo Brings Plenty, guest of the premiere episode of the new C&I podcast Spirit of the West, as Minco Dodge, a Choctaw Native American who is an invaluable ally of Oyelowo’s title character.

Originally known as 1883: Bass Reeves, then simply as Bass Reeves, Lawmen: Bass Reeves — produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions, and Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon — has been reconceived as an anthology series that will focus on a different Wild West peacekeeper each season.
Series creator, executive producer, showrunner, and writer Chad Feehan said in a prepared statement that he was “deeply honored and humbled to share the trailer” for Lawmen: Bass Reeves, adding:
“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. 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’ story, where the myth of the man both converged with and separated from reality, and why Bass’ life was more relevant than ever.
“I immediately went home and scoured the internet, read books and listened to podcasts. 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 U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves.
“Our story explores the lawman, the husband, the father; 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.
“Today, as we near the finish line of post-production, my being honored and humbled is only overshadowed by my gratitude for David Oyelowo. His performance is spectacular, his will is eternal, his collaborative spirit is graceful, and more than anything, his capacity for friendship is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received. I hope each and every one of you truly enjoy our series in the coming weeks and months.”
Here is the trailer for Lawmen: Bass Reeves.