Mini-series - 8 episodes (2023)
Rent Lawmen: Bass Reeves on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the books (paid link)
Created by: Chad Feehan
Based on: Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves and Hell on the Border by Sidney Thompson
Starring: David Oyelowo, Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Forrest Goodluck, Barry Pepper, Dennis Quaid, Grantham Coleman, Donald Sutherland
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Legendary lawman Bass Reeves, one of the greatest frontier heroes and one of the first Black deputy U.S. marshals, rises from enslavement to law enforcement west of the Mississippi River.
Verdict
It's not that it's necessarily bad, it's just boring. I was expecting the amazing exploits of Bass Reeves. What I got was the daily tribulations of a sheriff that's more than capable, but he's not awe inspiring. While his plight has more tension since he's a black man in the time period, the show uses that as a crutch more than to develop characters.
Skip it.
Review
The real Bass Reeves became one of the first Black deputy U.S. Marshals in the American West after escaping slavery during the Civil War.
The first episode begins with Bass Reeves (David Oyelowo) in the Civil War. The battle captures the chaos, fear, and desperation of war though Bass charges forward with his commander despite the impediments.
After the war Bass is trapped between worlds. He fought in the war, but he's afforded no rights. He has to go back to his master's house where he's forced to play an unnecessarily cruel poker game for his freedom. As fearful as he was during the game, when the master cheats Bass goes off. You don't joke about a man's freedom. The ideals his master claimed to uphold were all empty boasts. He's not physically bound and imprisoned, but he isn't completely free in this world either. Bass makes his way and even finds his wife again. After part I, eight episodes seemed like a lot.
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| E4: David Oyelowo plays Bass Reeves |
Bass is back with his family, trying to be a farmer. That isn't working out, so when he's recruited by Marshall Lynn (Dennis Quaid) to hunt a fugitive because Bass speaks Croix, he signs up. That too ends with Bass beating up a white man. Despite the altercation, Lynn realizes Bass is one of the few men that can do the job. By the end of part II Bass is a deputy.
The show is slower than I expected. I thought there would be more action. Maybe the show is building to the myth of Bass Reeves, but it's certainly takes it's time. Reeves is supposed to be a legend from what I've read outside of the series. With what we've seen he's a good deputy, but each episode wants to highlight how principled he is as well as his devotion to his family. This story could almost be any generic sheriff backstory. Bass's plight has more tension due to him being a black man in this setting and time period. That adds tension and undertones to every interaction.
Towards the end I was just waiting for this to end. It's never as interesting as it should be. It's a subdued and generic western.
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