Dennis Quaid will star alongside David Oyelowo in 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, a spinoff of the Yellowstone prequel series 1883, it was announced on Thursday.
Taylor Sheridan, the creator of the Yellowstone franchise, will executive produce and direct episodes of the series, with Oyelowo and his wife, Jessica Oyelowo, also serving as executive producers.
What We Know About 1883: The Bass Reeves Story
Quaid is set to play Sherrill Lynn, a Deputy US Marshall. The project has been in the works for quite some time. In September 2021, Oyelowo and Bass Reeves were announced to have inked an overall TV contract with Paramount.
Oyelowo provided additional details about the project in June of last year when Paramount launched its streaming service Paramount+ in the UK. He described it as a miniseries that will be "epic in scale."
The first two episodes will be directed by Sheridan, who will also produce.
Bass Reeves brings to life the famed lawman of the wild west. Reeves (Oyelowo), known as the greatest frontier hero in American history and maybe the basis for "The Lone Ranger," worked as a federal peace officer in Indian Territory after Reconstruction, arresting over 3,000 of the most dangerous offenders without ever being wounded.
Taylor Sheridan’s Expanding Universe
Bass Reeves, set in the universe of Yellowstone as a spin-off to the show's prequel 1883, joins an already illustrious lineup. Yellowstone, starred by Kevin Costner, follows the hardships and tribulations of the Dutton family, owners of the United States' biggest contiguous ranch.
The show has been nominated for both SAG and Emmy Awards, and a record 12.1 million people turned in to watch the Season 5 premiere. Its prequel, 1883, aired on Paramount+ with record viewership in December 2021, while fellow prequel 1923 also had a record-breaking debut, with the Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren-starring show having a multi-platform debut with 7.4 million total viewers in December 2022.
How Bass Reeves will relate to 1883 and the larger Yellowstone shows is uncertain, as is the significance of Quaid's role in the program.
Additionally, a specific release date for Bass Reeves is still unknown. The most recent Yellowstone spin-off, 1923, is currently midway through its first season and will return with fresh episodes starting on Feb. 5 on Paramount+.
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