Yellowstone fans have quite a while to wait before the release date of the series’ final episodes, but fortunately for those who have been enjoying creator Taylor Sheridan’s other projects, there’s still plenty in the works. Lawmen: Bass Reeves — the first entry in an expected anthology series, which stars David Oyelowo as the titular character — is Sheridan's latest offering, available to stream Sunday, November 5, with a Paramount+ subscription. Critics had the chance to screen the first few episodes ahead of their release, and they aren’t quite in agreement with how well this latest Western works.
Taylor Sheridan is named as an executive producer on the Paramount+ series, but unlike his other projects, he did not write or direct any of the episodes. In addition to David Oyelowo, other members of Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ cast include Dennis Quaid and Donald Sutherland in this drama based on the life of the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. Let’s see what the critics have to say, starting with Alex Maidy of JoBlo. Maidy rates it a “Good” 7 out of 10, calling the first episodes “exciting, emotional and violent,” and writing:
Bass Reeves is a solid first entry in what will be an interesting anthology chronicling any number of famed and infamous icons from the past. Bass Reeves is a fascinating character whose story is all but designed for a platform like this. However, the series still manages to fall into the constraints of a procedural form of storytelling, focusing on Reeves solving cases and catching bad guys. ... Lawmen is a great addition to Taylor Sheridan’s library of shows, but mostly because he lent his name to get it made rather than taking creative control for himself. Lawmen: Bass Reeves is a great Western tale that must be told and a very entertaining and illuminating experience.
David Hookstead of OutKick says Taylor Sheridan has “another massive hit” on on his hands, and fans of his other series won’t be disappointed, as Lawmen delivers the performances and dark, gritty content we’ve come to expect. The critic continues:
Oyelowo is outstanding as Reeves from the moment the audience is introduced to him as a slave fighting for the Confederates in the Civil War through his journey forward. He’s also joined by Dennis Quaid, who proves he still has his fastball. The cast is exactly what Sheridan fans have come to expect. I can promise you won’t be disappointed. What I can also reveal is there weren’t too many smiles or laughs in what I saw. It was a lot of violence, heartbreak, pain, suffering and tragedy. Does that sound familiar?
Akos Peterbencze of Paste calls Lawmen: Bass Reeves a “damn good Western.” It undoubtedly follows the imprint established by Taylor Sheridan but benefits from having creator and showrunner Chad Feehan’s undivided attention. Peterbencze writes:
The first three episodes are essentially the origin story of Bass—a grueling battle of survival, fierceness, and perseverance in God’s country paved by blood, racism, and an ounce of hope. It’s a captivating passage of his life dominated by raw naturalism and fascinating characters who come alive in scenes both loud and quiet, pulsating with strong emotions and delicate feelings. There’s an inherent melancholy here, underlined by Chanda Dancy’s elegiac score, that often defines Westerns of the best kind, and Bass Reeves does come across as a damn good one, especially within the first two hours. The dialogue is sharp, the bleak yet vast cinematography is ever-so-stunning, and the action is ruthless and fast-paced.
Not all of the critics agree, however, and Ben Travers of IndieWire grades it a C-. Lawmen: Bass Reeves is too formulaic, too rushed and too incurious, Travers says, to delve into the nuances of a former slave forced to fight for the Confederate army and a pacifist who picked up a gun every day. In the critics’ words:
It tells yet another tale of a farmer who’s sworn off killing, yet kills again anyway; a husband who loves his wife more than anything, yet risks losing her whenever the cowboys come callin’; a father who’s proud of his kids, but who’s rarely around to see them do much of anything. Toss in a few shameless deaths to motivate Bass, and you’ll soon feel like you’ve seen this dark and dour story before. That may be the point. Given how quickly the Sheridan-verse is expanding, it needs easy stories, and fast. But Bass Reeves, no matter who he really was, deserves a more inquisitive case study than this.
Daniel Fienberg of THR echoes the above sentiment, saying that Bass Reeves deserves to have his story told, but Lawmen doesn’t do justice to the man’s experience. Fienberg writes:
An oddly disjointed series with very little voice or perspective, Lawmen: Bass Reeves benefits tremendously from David Oyelowo‘s central performance and from Sheridan’s impressive ability to attract high-profile guest stars for underwritten non-roles. But its answer to the question, ‘Why tell Bass Reeves’ story?’ is basically, ‘Because he has a very busy Wikipedia entry.’ It isn’t bad, but it’s very dry and inexcusably bland.
The critics do seem to agree that the man portrayed by David Oyelowo is deserving of such a series, but it’s in the writing and execution that they disagree on how successful Chad Feehan was in that endeavor. It sounds like fans of Taylor Sheridan’s other works will be pleased, as Lawmen: Bass Reeves captures the same spirit, so if you’d like to check this series out, you can catch the series premiere on Paramount+ on Sunday, November 5.
