It Took the ‘Bass Reeves’ Team Five Months to Film Only Three Episodes

The Big Picture

• Lawmen: Bass Reeves faces unique challenges filming on location in Texas, where weather conditions dictate when and how they shoot.
• The crew had to adapt to the unpredictable weather, sometimes delaying shoots due to storms and putting safety first.
• Despite the setbacks, the director and cast pushed forward and are confident that the series will be a treat for eager viewers. David Oyelow and a stellar ensemble star in this historical drama.

Over five seasons and multiple spin-offs, Taylor Sheridan and the rest of the team behind the award-winning series Yellowstone has developed a strongly devoted fanbase that keeps coming back for more stories about the Dutton family. But, that isn’t the only thing driving up viewership numbers as the production also has a lot of thanks to pay to the gorgeous scenery of Montana. The title that started it all is famously filmed on location in Big Sky country, adding that much more depth to the dramatic storyline. Though it isn’t a spin-off of Yellowstone, but rather an off-shoot focusing on life in the Wild West, Lawmen: Bass Reeves is the latest production under the eye of Sheridan to move its cast off the sets of Hollywood and into the great outdoors. While filming took place from January to June of 2023, it sounds like the weather led them to shoot episodes out of sequence. During an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, series director, Damian Marcano, who directed episodes 4-6, spoke about the unique challenges that he and the rest of the team faced to bring audiences a more genuine production.

“The state of Texas being at the top of the list,” Marcano says of the biggest hurdles faced in the making of Lawmen: Bass Reeves, specifically “its weather conditions.” Completely handing over control to Mother Nature, the director said, “Yeah, it decided what we would do when we would do it. So, it took me, I think, five-and-a-half months to complete three of these episodes.” By filming outside, the crew had an unwanted producer in the weather forecast with Marcano revealing,

It isn’t the kind of thing that you can go in and say, ‘Why aren’t the stage lights working?’ You’re like, ‘No, there’s a storm moving over those plains, and we just can’t shoot right now. The entire company is gonna be in danger. So, guess what? We can’t shoot that right now.’

Referring to it as “a creative frustration,” for both the production’s “directors and actors who have sort of gotten themselves prepared to come in and film this right then and right now,” Marcano says that he tried to “approach [the setbacks] from the optimistic side.” In these moments, the director would think, “What can we do right now?” adding that this was simply something that everyone involved had to adapt to. Still, Marcano, whose work has previously been seen in series such as American Gigolo and Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, assures eager viewers that they’re in for a real treat. Despite the tricky weather, the director says he and his team of stars pushed forward with all their might, saying, “You realized the opportunity of what we have to tell here, and if these dailies are looking like anything that we think they are, I think this is gonna be great for our audience.”

Who’s in Lawmen: Bass Reeves?

Starring as the titular enforcement official is David Oyelow who is well known for his work in productions including Selma and Nightingale as well as TV projects such as Silo and The Girl Before. Joining Oyelow is a stellar ensemble that includes Dennis Quaid (On a Wing and a Prayer), Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant), Demi Singleton (King Richard), Barry Pepper (We Were Soldiers), Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games franchise) and Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy).

The series will follow the life of Reeves who rose to historical prominence as the first Black Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. Thought to be the inspiration behind The Lone Ranger, the series will likely dramatize facts while still giving audiences a solid education.

Dig into a piece of history when Lawmen: Bass Reeves arrives on Paramount+ in the U.S. with its first two episodes on November 5 with new installments to follow weekly. Check out our guide to the series here.

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