“Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” about the first Black deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River and the likely inspiration for the Lone Ranger, was brought to vivid life by David Oyelowo during the show’s just-concluded first season.
In Oyelowo’s more-than-capable hands, Reeves isn’t a 2D dimensional Old West cop, but a deeply conflicted person, born into slavery, forced to do things that he might find reprehensible and on the hunt for a villain that is taking Black lives in an era when nobody thought they’d be missed. It is one of the great performances of the year and it just so happened to be in a show that everybody (with a Paramount+ subscription) watched.
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