2023's Lawmen: Bass Reeves was added to Netflix last week, and like fellow Taylor Sheridan shows like Yellowstone and 1883 before it, it's proven to be a hit on the streamer.
At the time of writing, the series is occupying the eighth spot on the Top 10 current shows chart on UK Netflix. Furthermore (via FlixPatrol), it's sixth place in the US, and 10th place worldwide.
The show follows the real-life hero Bass Reeves, one of the first African American deputy US Marshals, who operated on the west of the Mississippi River and notably captured thousands of criminals without being injured.
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Silo and Selma actor David Oyelowo plays the titular role, while the cast also includes Dragonheart's Denis Quaid, The Hunger Games' Donald Sutherland, Maniac's Lauren E Banks, King Richard's Demi Singleton, The Revenant's Forrest Goodluck, The Kennedys' Barry Pepper, and The Americans' Grantham Coleman.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has an excellent audience score of 93% positive from over 500 user ratings. The critic score is a bit lower, sitting at 79% positive from 33 reviews.
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"What makes Lawmen worth sticking with are the performances, beginning with Oyelowo as the brutalised Reeves. He shines even amid a starry cast," wrote The Daily Telegraph, which notes that Quaid and Sutherland "are loving every brutal minute".
The review continues: "When it comes to connecting with the viewer at a purely visceral level, the Sheridanverse shoots from the hip and rarely misses."
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JoBlo's Movie Network called the show "a great addition to Taylor Sheridan's library" because Sheridan himself was less directly involved when compared to his other projects, a sentiment echoed by Variety: "Recognizably of a piece with Sheridan's filmography, while striking a tone and moving at a pace of its own. It's a more sustainable execution of the power producer’s distinct vision -- and, more importantly, a better one than some recent attempts."
Ready Steady Cut also called it "one of the better shows in the Sheridan universe", praising the "healthy balance of excellent writing of the Bass Reeves character and Oyelowo’s strong performance".
The show only ran for one season, although not due to a cancellation; it was always intended to be a mini-series of 8 episodes that viewers can work through in a short space of time.
Lawmen: Bass Reeves is available to stream on Netflix as well as Paramount+.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
