Taylor Sheridan Helped Create A Criminally Underrated Western Miniseries

Since breaking out as a writer and director on films like "Wind River" and "Hell or High Water," Taylor Sheridan has quickly become the master of the modern Western. And with his ever-expanding universe of "Yellowstone" TV shows, he's arguably the most in-demand creator in Hollywood. Yet there's a Western miniseries that he produced in 2023 that seems to have fallen under most people's radars: The David Oyelowo-led "Lawmen: Bass Reeves."

Though not connected to the "Yellowstone" prequel "1883," "Lawmen: Bass Reeves" feels like it could be. It's based around an iconic real-life U.S. marshal, the trailblazing gunslinger and Western hero Bass Reeves, played by Oyelowo. The eight-episode series follows Reeves' journey from homesteader to legendary lawman, recruited into the service by Marshal James Fagan (Dennis Quaid) during a period of expansion of federal law enforcement at the behest of the notorious Judge Parker (Donald Sutherland). Recognized for his knowledge of the territory and his good standing with the indigenous population, Reeves quickly becomes one of the most famous marshals in U.S. history, reportedly nabbing as many as 3,000 fugitives during his time in the service (there's even more to the true story that the series doesn't cover).

"Lawmen: Bass Reeves" wasn't written or directed by Sheridan, but he served as executive producer and helped usher the series from the page to the screen. And that was no easy feat: The series, once planned as a feature film, spent almost a decade in development before Sheridan got involved. But when it finally premiered, it became one of the best-reviewed Westerns around — and without Sheridan, it might never have happened.

The real-life Bass Reeves is a legendary figure in the annals of history, famous for being one of the first Black law enforcers in the Old West. He's been a part of Hollywood Westerns before, including "They Die by Dawn" and "The Harder They Fall," where he was played by Harry Lennix and Delroy Lindo, respectively, and even appeared in an episode of DC Comics' "Legends of Tomorrow" where he was portrayed by David Ramsey. But he's never been the subject of a major motion picture or his own TV series, something David Oyelowo wanted to change. Unfortunately, getting a Bass Reeves biopic off the ground proved difficult — until Tyler Sheridan came along.

Showrunner Chad Feehan had also been working on a project centered on Reeves, and it was Sheridan who got things moving for him. "Taylor Sheridan recommended me to David Oyelowo, who has been trying to tell this story for eight years," Feehan said in an interview with Country Living. With Sheridan and Oyelowo's help, the team of writers and producers dug deep into the history books, determined to tell a more true-to-life story than previous projects featuring Reeves.

"I sat down with David at dinner, and he explained to me all the things that I didn't know, and explained to me where the myth both converged with and separated from reality," continued Feehan. "I immediately got hooked about Bass Reeves, and was determined to support David in any way that I could in honoring his legacy." Ultimately, the show was a big success, and Oyelowo has teased the potential for a Season 2.