‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ to Get Special CBS Airing Following ‘Yellowstone’ Solid Ratings Performance

Coming behind the run of “Yellowstone” Season 1, CBS has announced the first two episodes of “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” will also air on the network. The episodes will air on Nov. 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following an episode of “Yellowstone.”

The series first premiered on Nov. 5 on Paramount+. The remaining six episodes will follow a weekly release schedule with a new episode dropping each Sunday exclusively on the CBS streaming service.

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Starring and executive produced by David Oyelowo, the first installment in the anthology series tells the story of legendary lawman Reeves (Oyelowo) and his rise from enslavement to law enforcement as one of the first Black U.S. Deputy Marshals west of the Mississippi. “Despite arresting over 3,000 outlaws during the course of his career, the weight of the badge was heavy, and he wrestled with its moral and spiritual cost to his beloved family,” reads the official description.

In addition to Oyelowo, Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Forrest Goodluck, Barry Pepper, Grantham Coleman, Donald Sutherland and Dennis Quaid also star. Shea Whigham and Garrett Hedlund appear as guest stars, alongside Joaquina Kalukango, Lonnie Chavis, Tosin Morohunfola, Dale Dickey, Rob Morgan, Ryan O’Nan, Margot Bingham, Mo Brings Plenty, Justin Hurtt-Dunkley and Bill Dawes who star in recurring roles.

Just last month, CBS extended its broadcast run of “Yellowstone” with Season 2, which began airing on Oct. 29 following the telecast of the Season 1 finale. CBS originally added the series (which airs on CBS’ basic cable sibling Paramount Network) along with “SEAL Team,” after having previously shifted the military drama to Paramount+, to its fall slate in an attempt to bolster its strike-afflicted programming schedule.

Since “Yellowstone” made its broadcast debut on Sept. 17, the series has averaged an audience of 5.49 million viewers for each episode, Nielsen reports. As Variety previously reported in September, the debut episode alone delivered 6.6 million viewers to CBS. That figure eventually jumped to 7.5 million total viewers after three days of delayed viewing via VOD, DVR and other platforms.

Chad Feehan serves as showrunner and executive producer on “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” with Taylor Sheridan, Oyelowo, David C. Glasser, Jessica Oyelowo, David Permut, Christina Alexandra Voros, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari and David Hutkin. The series is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions and Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon.

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