Lawmen: Bass Reeves Is No Longer an 1883 Spinoff: Show Boss Explains Why

1883 fans, don’t expect the Duttons’ wagon train to traipse through Lawmen: Bass Reeves when the historical drama premieres on Sunday.

Though the new series starring David Oyelowo (Selma) originally was billed as a spinoff of the first Yellowstone prequel, it eventually evolved to become a standalone show set in the greater Duttonverse.

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Creator and showrunner Chad Feehan tells TVLine that the spinoff concept was “an idea that we briefly talked about. But for me, once I learned some of the things I didn’t know about Bass’ life, and decided where we wanted to start the story and where we wanted to end the story, it preceded 1883.”

The new show’s eight-episode season “takes place from, roughly, 1862 to 1877,” Feehan adds. 1883, true to its name, unfolds in the titular year as the Dutton family travels the Oregon trail but winds up establishing its ranch in Montana.

Lawmen will follow Reeves’ “rise from enslavement to law enforcement as the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi,” per the official logline. “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.”

The series will premiere on Paramount+ with two episodes.

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Feehan (Ray Donovan) also will executive-produce alongside Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone), Oyelowo and others.

The cast includes: Dennis Quaid (Vegas), Donald Sutherland (The Undoing), Garrett Hedlund (Tulsa King), Barry Pepper (The Kennedys), Forrest Goodluck (Pet Sematary: Bloodlines), Dale Dickey (Justified), Lonnie Chavis (This Is Us), Mo Brings Plenty (Yellowstone) and Shea Whigham (Gaslit).

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