David  Oyelowo rides the iconic white horse bringing to life Marshall Bass Reeves.

by Will Lemon | 8 December 2023

The Lone Ranger has always been one of my favorite TV characters. A few years ago, I began to read about this Black marshal named Bass Reeves from the late 1800's who was the inspiration for the Long Ranger. I was excited, angry, frustrated. Since then, I have been waiting for someone to do a project showcasing the life of this great man.

A few months ago I read about Paramount Plus finally releasing a series centered around the career of Bass Reeves and I was almost in tears. After seeing Taylor Sheridan‘s previous work, I thought the Bass Reeves project would be equally great. With David Oyelowo playing the man himself, I could hardly wait for the premier.

​

So, my family and I sit down to watch the series on Sunday night. Honestly, I wasn’t prepared for the image of a Black man in a Confederate uniform. Taylor Sheridan has a habit of making Confederate soldiers sympathetic so I was getting a little heated but I quickly remembered that some enslaved men were conscripted to fight for the Confederacy. Relieved, I kept watching.

​

For the next 10 minutes or so Bass Reeves barely spoke. This has always been a pet-peeve of mine. It's even more concerning considering the context. This Black man was being disallowed from telling his story. It felt like the supporting characters were talking about him, telling the audience how he felt while he just grimaced. Way too familiar.

​

It reiterated to me a trend I've been seeing. So many other people groups have the freedom to vocalize their displeasure with the injustices they experience but Black men seem to be silent - either by choice or by design. I'm not sure which. Neither is unacceptable. 

​

The rest of the episode seem to fall flat. They chose to incorporate the drama of the Reeves homestead. I can only assume this subplot is included in the book on which the series is based. Makes sense, except if you entitle the project 'Lawmen: Bass Reeves' one would infer the subject matter would center on the title character's career as a marshal not so much on his personal life.

We get so few projects about historical Black Americans, when one does come along you want it to be Oscar/Emmy worthy. Lawmen:Bass Reeves hits some notes of greatness but just doesn't quite get there. I don't know why David Oyelowo chose to limit this character to stereotypical, western cowboy, if it was his choice or the director's but I wish he would have leaned into it more with emotional range. He has one gear- scowling and guttural.

With two more episodes to go, here's hoping it finales strong.