One of America’s most overlooked and influential historical figures finally got his time to shine with Lawmen: Bass Reeves, and thank goodness it wasn’t a Yellowstone spin-off. To be completely fair, Taylor Sheridan‘s Western universe has become something to behold. Starting with the flagship monster hit series that began in 2018, Paramount and Sheridan have crafted an unstoppable television empire complete with Hollywood stars including Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, and Annette Bening, with the strife of the Dutton family at its center.
Despite his commitment to building and expanding the Yellowstone universe, Sheridan also has his hands in many other projects, such as Tulsa King, Lioness, and more. In September 2021, MTV and ViacomCBS announced that Taylor Sheridan would be developing a limited series about historical Western icon Bass Reeves, with Selma star David Oyelowo in the lead role. It was an exciting prospect given that Reeves is a figure whose story is gripping from start to finish. However, in May 2022, MTV Entertainment announced that the series would be tweaked to be a spin-off/continuation of Yellowstone‘s 1883 prequel, which felt more than a little unnecessary. Thankfully, Paramount and Sheridan made the wise decision to untether Reeves’ story from the Yellowstone universe. It proved a much better route to take, as the influential historical figure didn’t need his story undercut by the fictional escapades of the Dutton family.
Who Is Bass Reeves?
So first off, who exactly is Bass Reeves? Why was it so important for his story to be disconnected from the fictional family strife of the Yellowstone universe? Well, to show how important Reeves is as a historical figure, do us a favor and think about your favorite hero from your favorite Western story — The Lone Ranger, Shane, Arthur Morgan. We’d be willing to bet that the real-life adventures of Bass Reeves at least indirectly inspired all these characters and more.
Born in 1838, Bass Reeves was one of the millions of Black individuals born as a slave before the Civil War. Once the war began, Bass also became one of the many slaves who were forced to serve the Confederacy in the bloodiest conflict in American history. Not keen on joining that historic body count, Reeves found the opportunity to escape into the Native American territory of Oklahoma. For years, that is where Bass spent his life, learning the ways of the Native population before the war ended and the 13th Amendment was passed.
The end of the Civil War meant the aggressive expansion of the Wild West, where crime and lawlessness were abundant, particularly in the part of the country where Reeves fled during the war. Due to Reeves’ familiarity with the area, experience in combat, and understanding of Native American traditions, U.S. Marshal James Fagan deputized Reeves, thus making him the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi.
Bass Reeves Had a Long, Successful Career as a U.S. Marshal
The rest of Bass Reeves’ story sounds like it could have come straight from a John Ford Western film. Over his 30-plus-year career, Reeves incarcerated more than 3,000 people — the highest arrest record of any U.S. Marshal in history. One of those people was one of his own 11 children, Bennie Reeves, who Bass decided to personally bring in after Bennie was accused of murdering his wife. That’s only scratching the surface of Bass Reeves’ escapades, which also included disguising himself to track down wanted criminals.
Unfortunately, despite Bass Reeves’ unparalleled service to his country, his story does end in an unfortunate way. Institutionalized racism was still alive and well in the now-tamed Wild West, and Reeves was no longer allowed to serve as a U.S. Marshal following Oklahoma’s induction as a state, purely because of his skin color. That still didn’t stop Reeves’ illustrious career from being chronicled and told, even after his eventual death in 1910.
Bass Reeves Is Interesting Enough Without ‘Yellowstone’ Ties
As the man widely credited with being the inspiration for The Lone Ranger, there is already more than enough to cover with the tale of Bass Reeves. A Black man escaping slavery, learning the ways of the Native American population, and then becoming the most prolific law enforcement Marshal in U.S. history is a story that deserved proper telling, which is exactly why, in hindsight, a connection to Yellowstone would have been more of a detriment than a benefit.
Firstly, there would’ve been a bit of irony in a prominent Black historical figure being tied to a fictional white family. It’s not a great look to take a legendary real-life individual like Bass Reeves and use his legacy and influence in a story largely consisting of fictional characters. That’s not to say including historical figures in fictional stories is impossible. That was proven in various allusions to Reeves himself in HBO’s Watchmen series, where the Marshal is appropriately used as a nod to how he was an early progenitor of the superhero archetype.
Secondly, and most importantly, as Reeves’ own life demonstrates, his story is significantly interesting without the need for any fictional elements. Yes, some characters have been added to the series for more dimension, and some events have been changed to fit different storytelling needs, but those changes are few and minor. 30 years is a long span to cover, and with its only season, Lawmen: Bass Reeves proved there’s more than enough to explore that doesn’t involve the lineage of Costner’s John Dutton.
