Ever since he was Oscar-nominated for his Hell or High Water screenplay, Taylor Sheridan has been churning out acclaimed content for television and the big streamers such as Yellowstone and Special Ops: Lioness. That pedigree now includes Lawmen: Bass Reeves, an upcoming Paramount+ TV series that premieres Nov. 5. Starring Emmy nominee David Oyelowo in the titular role, Lawmen chronicles the true story of the renowned U.S. Deputy Marshall who reportedly arrested more than 3,000 outlaws over the course of his legendary career. Season one takes us all the way back to Reeves’ enslavement days to effectively paint the whole picture. Oyelowo is joined by other acclaimed performers, such as Dennis Quaid, Donald Sutherland, and Shea Whigham along the way. It’s vintage Western TV with a modern twist that Yellowstone fans will surely eat right up.

We recently caught up with series creator Chad Feehan to learn more about the production process and what it was like joining forces with award-winning filmmakers and actors.

David Oyelowo Captures the ‘Mythology’ Behind Bass Reeves

A star like David Oyelowo has been in the spotlight ever since his acclaimed performance as Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma (2014). More recently, he co-starred in the hit series Silo on Apple TV+, and now he’s playing the lead role in a Taylor Sheridan project. Feehan confirmed Oyelowo’s star power in explaining the reasons why he decided to join the project. “It was David Oyelowo specifically,” he told MovieWeb. “I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and I heard stories about Bass Reeves as a kid. And they were always akin to sort of this gunslinging lawman pursuing the most hardened criminals in the Wild West, and that sort of mythology implanted itself in my conscience.

“And then, over the years, I would take interest. Watchmen recently paid homage to Bass. Texas Monthly did a big spread on him a few years ago. And Taylor and I had been sort of orbiting in the same circle for a while, and he recommended me to David. David has been trying to make this project for eight years and invited me to dinner. And over the course of that dinner, which lasted four hours, not only did I make a friend for life, but I was also enamored by what David had to tell me about Bass, the things that I didn’t know, and sort of felt compelled to be part of the legacy to honor Bass Reeves’ life.”

Related: The 15 Best Western TV Shows of All Time

Feehan also noted some characteristics they share as real-life people, such as their love of storytelling and deep dedication to their respective families. Feehan calls it “a unique kinship” and went on note some more perks of collaborating with Oyelowo:

“He’s the most dedicated craftsman I’ve ever been around. His commitment to his craft is astounding. His talent, I believe, is transcendent. And that can only be overshadowed by his persona. He is graceful and compassionate, and passionate. So it’s the highlight of my career to this point, to find myself working with somebody that is that gifted in one breath, but also that giving in another. So I feel incredibly fortunate to have been a part of it and worked with him.”

Working with Taylor Sheridan and A-Listers
Paramount

Besides Oyelowo, a number of other familiar faces join season one of the new series, including Shea Whigham playing a chilling character who shares a few tense, racially charged scenes with the then-enslaved Bass Reeves in the thrilling pilot episode. “I’ve always loved Shea on-camera. I was so thankful that he was willing to take on such a difficult role,” said Feehan. He continued describing the cast:

“Barry [Pepper] was a delight to work with and did an excellent job. Lauren [E. Reeves], I watched her audition and I said, ‘Who is this? She’s gonna be a superstar.’ She plays Jenny Reeves. I’d just seen Demi [Singleton] in King Richard when we cast her, and loved her performance in that and loved her performance in this. There’s no shortage, you know? I was a kid of the ’80s, so I grew up with Dennis Quaid and Donald Sutherland. And to get to work with the two of them was very surreal, obviously. And so I couldn’t be more ecstatic about the cast that we assembled.”

Related: Yellowstone Explained: Why is it So Popular, and What Is It?

Then there’s Taylor Sheridan, who continues to take Hollywood by storm on the small screen with a seemingly endless stream of content. Feehan was quick to note the many benefits of having Sheridan’s blessing as an executive producer on an exciting new project like Lawmen. “I’m grateful because he gave me the freedom and the autonomy to craft the story and to lead the production,” said Feehan. “Taylor has a gift for storytelling that’s something that I’ve never seen before. He would come in on a script that had been written, and he’d be like, ‘What if you added this little moment here?’ And a suggestion like that would really make the script sing louder than it already sang.”

During production, he created this machine to make Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, and allow that machine to come to us, and was instrumental in that sort of handoff of putting this machine into place and using it to tell this story, and then imposed that magical storytelling juice that he seems to never run out of. That really influenced the edit in positive ways.

Taking a step back and looking at his new series overall, Feehan concluded our interview with a final word about what he hopes audiences take away from Lawmen: Bass Reeves. “I’m excited for audience to see a story about the lawman, the husband, the father, a story about the triumph of the human spirit, a story about the universality of the human condition.”

We’re excited for you to see it, too. Lawmen: Bass Reeves premieres on Sunday, November 5 on Paramount+.