Is Lawmen: Bass Reeves based on a true story?

Oyelowo not only executively produces the new project but also leads the cast as Reeves, a formerly enslaved Black man in the post-Reconstruction era. He captured over 3000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded, but the responsibility that came with his duties was heavy, as will be explored in the new eight-part series.

But is the series based on a true story? Read on to find out.

Is Lawmen: Bass Reeves based on a true story?

The new Paramount Plus series is indeed based on the very true story and life of Bass Reeves.

Reeves was a real-life lawman who went down in legend due to his sheer determination and work to protect the wild west.

Reeves was born into slavery in the Arkansas household of William S Reeves, who moved to Paris, Texas, in 1846.

During the Civil War in Texas, William Reeves made Bass accompany his son, George, to fight for the Confederacy. But it was while out in the field with George that Bass managed to escape and gained his freedom.

It is widely believed that after he escaped he managed to flee to the Indian Territory, known today as Oklahoma. It was there that he learnt the landscape and language of the Cherokee, Seminole and Creek tribes.

Eventually, when the 13th amendment was passed in 1865, Bass officially became a free man and returned to Arkansas, where he married and went on to have 11 children.

After 10 years of freedom, Bass returned to the Indian Territory and was recruited by US Marshal James Fagan, who needed his help to capture the criminals who were ruining the land.

Bass was recruited as a deputy and became the first Black deputy to serve west of the Mississippi River.

As recorded in biographer Art T Burton's Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves, Bass is said to have arrested more than 3,000 people and killed 14 outlaws, all without sustaining a single gun wound.

Burton also asserted in his biography that Bass was the inspiration for the Lone Ranger, going on to map out some of the often strange and perplexing scenarios Bass found himself in to capture criminals.

Burton writes: “Bass Reeves is the closest real person to resemble the fictional Lone Ranger on the American western frontier of the nineteenth century."

From dressing as a beggar to arresting his own son for the murder of his wife, Bass had a lengthy and esteemed career, but was removed as a deputy when Oklahoma became a state in 1907, due to the fact that, as a Black man, new state laws didn't permit his position.

He went on to become an officer of the Muskogee Police Department in 1907, aged 68, but died of Bright's disease in 1910.

As the synopsis for the new series states: "Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, 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."

Lawmen: Bass Reeves launches on Paramount Plus with its first two episodes on Sunday 5th November 2023. Get a seven-day free trial of Paramount Plus on Amazon Prime Video. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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