Taylor Sheridan Produced This Historical Western Miniseries Streaming On Netflix

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“Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan is unquestionably one of Hollywood’s A-list creatives. The universe he’s created was valuable enough for Paramount and NBCUniversal to get into a bidding war over him last year. “The Boys” Season 5 even mocked Sheridan’s TV empire. That’s makin’ it. But Sheridan has produced hit shows that aren’t connected to “Yellowstone” as well, one of which is now streaming beyond the confines of Paramount+.

“Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” which is currently on Netflix, is a Western, but it’s not connected directly to “Yellowstone.” That means anyone who likes Westerns can watch it without feeling like they need to do any homework. Compare that to the series “Marshals.” Whether you think CBS’ “Yellowstone” spin-off is actually good or not, it pretty much requires one to be a “Yellowstone” fan to watch it. That’s not the case here, though.

Starring Oscar nominee David Oyelowo in the lead role, “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” only lasted for one season following its premiere in 2023. However, it was met with a good deal of acclaim and holds a decent 79% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, along with, perhaps more importantly, a 93% audience rating. But what is the show about, exactly? The official synopsis reads as follows:

Revealing the untold story of the most legendary lawman in the Old West, “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” follows the journey of Reeves (Oyelowo) and his rise from enslavement to law enforcement as the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. Despite arresting over 3,000 outlaws during the course of his career, the weight of the badge was heavy, and he wrestled with its moral and spiritual cost to his beloved family.

Chad Feehan created the series and served as its showrunner, but Taylor Sheridan coming on board is what truly allowed it to happen. Indeed, “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” was almost connected to the “Yellowstone” universe, but, in the end, it served as its own thing. All the same, Sheridan and his audience helped get this show moving after nearly a decade of unsuccessful attempts.

In fact, David Oyelowo had been trying to get the series off the ground since it was first brought to him in the mid-2010s. Speaking with The Wrap in 2023, the actor explained that the “entire industry” turned the show down before Sheridan got involved:

“Streaming didn’t even exist then. That’s how long we’ve been trying to get this done. And then in 2017, they all turned it down again. Then along comes Taylor Sheridan and this underserved audience who love Westerns, who love the tone of what he’s doing, who love the fact that he’s looking at this place in America that you could argue had become ignored in contemporaneous TV and film. And that gave us the platform, that gave us the foundation.”

Paramount has a deal to acquire Warner Bros. after Netflix backed out of its deal, meaning much is going to change in the future. In the meantime, though, Paramount generally likes to keep Sheridan’s shows on Paramount+ or CBS. Fortunately though, Netflix subscribers now have the chance to watch one of these series without having to subscribe to yet another streaming service.

You can also grab “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon.