Genre: TV Series
Grade: B+
Notable People: David Oyelowo, Lauren Banks, Dennis Quaid, Donald Sutherland, Forrest Goodluck, Created by: Chad Feehan
Title: Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Review: The latest of Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone related franchise is the true story of Bass Reeves– a former slave who became an American lawman. He was the first African-American US Marshall west of the Mississippi River and became a folk hero for his fight against ongoing post-civil war slavery practices. Sheridan is clearly the master of the modern day western and Oyelowo is compelling as the main a character, but the show felt a bit stiff and somewhat predictable. Nevertheless, the cast is sterling and the cinematography and attention to period detail is wonderful. Banks excels as the long suffering frontier wife. This is a major statement about the role of African -Americans in the settling of the West-one we have seen little of before. The “Lawmen” franchise is scheduled to continue with different historical protagonists each season- but this is one and done for Bass.