Posted in: TV | Tagged: bass reeves, david oyelowo, Tyler Sheridan, yellowstone

Yellowstone Creator, David Oyelowo Team for Bass Reeves Miniseries

Published Fri, 10 Sep 2021 10:08:09 -0500

David Oyelowo will produce and star in the Western limited series Bass Reeves, which he will produce with his wife Jessica Oyelowo through their production company Yoruba Saxon Productions. Deadline reported that Tyler Sheridan, creator of Yellowstone and writer of Sicario, will serve as producer. The series is part of an overall deal that ViacomCBS and MTV Entertainment made with the Oyelowos' company.

Bass Reeves was a real-life legendary lawman of The Wild West who was considered the greatest frontier hero in American history and is also believed to be the inspiration for The Lone Ranger. Reeves worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded. The series will serve as a corrective to the traditional Western genre narrative: in real life, the majority of cowboys were black and Mexican but Hollywood and popular culture whitewashed that fact in the 20^th Century.

"David and Jessica are incredibly talented artists and we're excited to develop our Bass Reeves project together with them and our phenomenal partner Taylor Sheridan," said Chris McCarthy, President & CEO, MTV Entertainment Group. "As the first Black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River, Reeves' story is monumental, and this limited series will bring to light one of the greatest frontier heroes in our country's history."

"The stories Jess and I want to tell are boundary-busting and full of folks the likes of whom we have seldom seen on screen. The extraordinary story of Bass Reeves exemplifies just that. To collaborate with world-class talent like Taylor Sheridan to tell those stories to the widest audience possible, is our dream, and we believe that can and will be realized through the shared ambitions we have with ViacomCBS and its signature branded platforms, alongside our seasoned and brilliant producing partners at 101 Studios," said Oyelowo.

"We are thrilled to partner with David, Jessica, and the entire team at Yoruba Saxon on this new endeavor and we are especially excited about our first project on Bass Reeves chronicling the legendary life of the west's most feared lawman. We can't wait to give audiences an exclusive look into his strength, perseverance and absolutely remarkable story through our joint venture with Yoruba and our friends at ViacomCBS," said David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios.

Bass Reeves will be executive produced by Sheridan, David Oyelowo, the Oyelowos, David Permut, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, and Bob Yari. MTV Entertainment Studios, Sheridan's Bosque Ranch Productions, Oyelowo's Yoruba Saxon, and 101 Studios will produce.

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