1883: The Bass Reeves Story Potential Release Date, Cast, Plot, and More
Taylor Sheridan might be the hottest name in TV right now, with epic, hit shows coming out left and right. Fans can’t get enough of his Yellowstone universe, which began with the show of the same name, Yellowstone. It already expanded with two prequel spin-off series, 1883 and 1923, following the Dutton family. Now, two more spinoffs have been announced.
One of those spinoffs is 1883: The Bass Reeves story, which will serve as an offshoot miniseries of the first Yellowstone prequel, 1883. It likely won’t include the Duttons, but there’s so much to unpack here that we just can’t wait for the show to come out.
If you want to learn more about 1883: The Bass Reeves story, its release date, plot, cast, and more, you’re in the right place. Here’s everything we know about the show so far.
1883: The Bass Reeves Story plot
1883: The Bass Reeves Story (also referred to as just Bass Reeves) is an offshoot miniseries of Taylor Sheridan’s 1883 show. It’ll premiere on Paramount Plus, and will be the first show within the Yellowstone universe that’s based on a real-life person. Not much is known about the plot, but we do know a lot about Bass Reeves, the real-life American history icon.
Bass Reeves was born in 1838 and died in 1923, and he holds a major place in the history of the United States. He was the first African American U.S. marshall west of the Mississippi river, who patrolled the entire Oklahoma state area.
He was a legendary lawman, and ‘one of the greatest frontier heroes in American history said to have made over 3000 arrests of heavyweight criminals without ever even getting wounded. It’s a truly inspiring story that feels somewhat forgotten, but Taylor Sheridan is here to change that.
Now, it’s important to say that The Bass Reeves Story, although considered a part of the Yellowstone universe, is a completely separate story from the Dutton and their Montana family ranch. It’s a parallel story that happens at the same time as 1883, but in a different location and environment – namely, the entire Oklahoma territory.
Whether it’ll somehow tie into the storyline with the Duttons remains to be seen, but none of the cast members from either 1883 or 1923 are set to return – at least for now.
1883: The Bass Reeves Story release date
Currently, there’s still no release date set for 1883: The Bass Reeves Story. It was, however, announced that the show will come out in 2023, but seeing that 1923 Season 1 is only at the mid-point and that the second half of Yellowstone Season 5 is coming out in the summer, The Bass Reeves Story likely isn’t hitting our screens until late 2023.
1883: The Bass Reeves Story Cast & Crew
Again, not many cast members have been officially announced by the producers or the creator, but we do know a couple of the most important roles and the actors behind them.
Bass Reeves, the titular character, will be portrayed by the highly-talented Emmy award nominee, David Oyelowo. Oyelowo already shared stuff about The Bass Reeves Story a couple of times on his social media and was the first cast member confirmed for the show.
The young British actor is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Marthin Luther King Jr. in Selma, but the two Primetime Emmy nominations came for his role as Peter Snowden in the 2014 movie Nightingale.
Another 1883: The Bass Reeves Story cast member that has been confirmed is Dennis Quaid, who will portray the Deputy U.S. marshall named Sherrill Lynn. Lynn will likely be Bass Reeves’ partner, but maybe Sheridan has other plans for the character because, as far as I can remember, Dennis Quaid is awesome at portraying villains.
Quaid was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his portrayal of Bill Clinton in 2010s The Special Relationship. Younger generations will likely remember him as the villain of the 2019 movie The Intruder, while his other notable roles included projects like Frequency (2000), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Far from Heaven (2002), and others.
The only other confirmed character so far is a Union Soldier portrayed by Richard Nash. Obviously, Taylor Sheridan is the creator of the show, while Racheal Seymour got credited as an executive story editor. The producers are Michael Friedman, David Permut, Taylor Sheridan, David and Jessica Oyelowo, Bob Yari, David Glasser, and others.
Kevin Constant will be the supervising art director, while Gary Archer will be responsible for dental prosthetics in at least two episodes. You can find the full cast and crew list here, which will likely be updated as the show’s release comes closer.
1883: The Bass Reeves Story trailer
Unfortunately, it is still far too early for a trailer of 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, but it will likely drop in the upcoming 2-3 months. The closes thing we have to a trailer is a video posted by David Oyelowo on his Instagram, where Taylor Sheridan talked a bit about The Bass Reeves Story, as well as his other projects. You can find the video below.