Netflix Western Star’s Blunt Response to Anyone Tired of Bass Reeves Stories
A life fit for the West
Bass Reeves escaped slavery and became one of the first Black deputy U.S. marshals. He pursued fugitives across the old West, a life that later inspired television portrayals.
David Oyelowo played Reeves in Lawmen: Bass Reeves, a Taylor Sheridan-produced series released in 2023. Three years later, Reeves is returning to television in a very different setting.
A mechanical-arm bounty hunter
Netflix’s Bass X Machina comes from LeSean Thomas, creator of Yasuke. In the series, Reeves is a bounty hunter with a mechanical arm, facing outlaws and automatons in the West.
Brian Tyree Henry voices Reeves and serves as an executive producer. The cast also includes Tati Gabrielle as a young engineer and Janelle Monáe as Glory, Reeves’ wife.
Henry challenges the question
In a behind-the-scenes conversation with Collider Set Stories, Henry recalled someone calling the project “another narrative about Bass Reeves.” He responded by asking how many such stories people could name. Henry then pushed back more directly, asking why there should not be more Bass Reeves narratives. The exchange reflects the question surrounding the series: whether a familiar historical figure can still support a new kind of story.
Key points
- Bass X Machina reimagines Reeves as a bounty hunter with a mechanical arm.
- Brian Tyree Henry voices Reeves and executive produces the Netflix series.
- The cast includes Tati Gabrielle and Janelle Monáe.
- Henry argued that there should be more stories about Bass Reeves.