CONFLICT AND chaos internally, conflict and chaos externally. Conflict and chaos everywhere. But from the conflict and chaos, comes clarity, you just have to ride the peaks and troughs, sometimes, whether you have a horse named Pistol or not.

There’s no trough deeper than being enslaved. Few peaks higher than being the first human being ever to achieve a feat. That’s the story being told in Lawmen: Bass Reeves, which hits our screens on November 5, with two episodes courtesy of Paramount+.

The series follows the amazing tale of Reeves’ rise to become one of the first African American US Deputy Marshals, the first west of Mississippi River, and his first few years in service. Born into slavery in 1838, Reeves was raised to be a man of integrity and faith, despite battling the internal conflict of being forced to find harmony with the inherent demons that come with having to accept being the property of another human being.

As he grew older, he became a marksman, eventually finding favour from his owner, William Reeves, by winning him money in turkey shooting competitions. 

Due to the extraordinary circumstances and a turbulent time in America’s history, Reeves later found himself forced to fight alongside William’s son George for the Confederates in the Civil War, yet more conflict. 

Starring multiple Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Emmy-nominated actor and producer David Oyelowo as Bass Reeves, the Oxford-born actor has long had an affinity with the story of Reeves. Created for TV by Chad Feehan, the Showrunner, Writer and Executive Producer said while he’d always heard about the story of Reeves growing up in America, the fervour to explore the legend further was only stoked when he met Oyelowo.

“Growing up in Texas, I heard a lot of stories about Bass Reeves; they were always akin to a dime novel hero with incredibly fanciful flourishes of a gunslinging lawman pursuing the most-hardened outlaws in the Wild West.

“Somewhere in my childhood that myth of Bass took firm root in my consciousness and never left.

“Then one day, not too long ago, David Oyelowo invited me to dinner. Over the course of our meal, he explained his seven-year journey to tell Bass’ story, where the myth of the man both converged with and separated from reality, and why Bass’s life was more relevant than ever. I immediately went home and scoured the internet, read books and listened to podcasts.

“I became obsessed with what I didn’t know, with all of the nooks and crannies of Bass’ remarkable life that aren’t regularly shared, as well as with revisiting the often-told tales through a now-adult lens.

“That spark of obsession morphed into a raging fire of determination, fuelled by my desire to play a role, no matter how big or small, and assist David in honoring the legacy of Deputy US Marshal Bass Reeves.” 

Oyelowo first heard about Bass Reeves’ story in 2014 and was quickly captivated by the noble lawman. 

“When you contextualise Reeves’ life with seminal moments in American history, of Slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow, and to have had that level of success and notoriety, his story is just extraordinary,” says Oyelowo.

It’s still unclear to this day how Reeves gained his freedom, but historians have reported that Reeves’ late daughter Alice claims he fled from slavery after an altercation with George Reeves during a card game. 

An expert on the life of Reeves, Sidney Thomason, who is also the series historical consultant, notes that there are accounts of him participating in the Battles of Pea Ridge (1862), Chickamauga (1863) and Missionary Ridge (1863).

An element of the series that makes for a refreshing take on a Western is the commitment to demonstrating that in order to fix the chaos of the time, it took the effort, trust and good will of everyone, no matter how conflicted they felt.

After a tremendous amount of research was completed, a misrepresentation often seen that Feehan and Oyelowo were eager to correct was history’s depiction of a lack of integration between white, African American and Native American races and cultures in Indian Territory. 

Feehan stated: “Our mission was to explore the authentic human connection of every race in the show.”

To accomplish this task, Feehan recruited Mo Brings Plenty (Yellowstone) as the show’s American Indian Affairs Coordinator. “If you look back at the true history, you’re gonna see American Indian folks in many aspects helping everyone that has ever come into this country,” says Mo Brings Plenty. 

The series features diverse representation that paints an authentic picture of the melting pot that was the American Wild West. History as a medium to portray is always very complicated as there are gaps due to oral histories, the lack of documentation, and often conflicting accounts. 

As a result, works of historical fiction can never be completely accurate and, at times, take creative liberties necessary to help weave a story.

“There’s actually a lot of information on Bass Reeves, but it’s all the same information,” says Oyelowo. 

“So there’s a lot of colouring-in to do between these legendary tales. But, there are real gaps. No biographer is going to know what the conversation between Bass and JennieReeves was on any given night,

so that’s where you have the creative license.” 

The character of Jennie Reeves is played by Lauren E. Banks, while Demi Singleton plays Sally Reeves, Bass’s eldest daughter. Bank’s delivers an assured performance as the matriarch of the Reeves family, described as the glue that holds them together. 

Singleton, who is best known for her powerful on-screen performance as Serena Williams in King Richard, admitted that as a high school student, she made an early observation during her audition process that she hadn’t learned about Bass Reeves in any of her history classes.

Feeling the importance of needing to tell his story, Singleton, who established herself as a Broadway star aged 10-years-old when she joined the cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School Of Rock – The Musical on Broadway for nearly a year before joining The Lion King on Broadway as Young Nala, was very excited at the opportunity to educate the world about her character, Sally. 

The family dynamics in all of its innocence and complexity are brilliantly executed by Oyeowo, Banks and Singleton, in a story that until now has been buried.

In the first and gripping episode Bass rides into hell. It’s the beginning of the conflict and chaos but also the beginning of a journey toward clarity. 

Lawmen: Bass Reeves is streaming on Paramount+ Sundays from 5th November.

*David Oyelowo and Chad Feehan were speaking before the SAG-AFTRA strike.