Watch the first two episodes of Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ in Fort Worth

“Yellowstone” fans have a chance to watch the first two episodes of a new spinoff show ahead of its official premiere.

“Lawmen: Bass Reeves” tells the story of the first black Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi River. The anthology series, comes from creator Chad Feehan, “Yellowstone” boss Taylor Sheridan and star/executive producer David Oyelowo, who plays the titular real-life lawman.

“Bass Reeves” premieres on Paramount+ this Sunday, but fans can watch the first two episodes of the show early in Fort Worth on Saturday, courtesy of the Lone Star Film Festival.

The annual Fort Worth festival, now in its 17th year, begins this week on Thursday and runs until Sunday.

On Saturday, the festival is hosting a two-episode premiere of “Bass Reeves” at the Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theater in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Tickets cost $15 for the two-hour event.

“Bass Reeves” creator Chad Feehan and series director Christina Alexandra Voros will be at Saturday’s screening and participate in a Q&A session after.

Starring alongside Oyelowo is Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Forrest Goodluck, Barry Pepper, Donald Sutherland and Dennis Quaid. Additional guest stars include Shea Whigham, Garrett Hedlund and Mo Brings Plenty.

“Bass Reeves” spent most of its time filming in North Texas, from Weatherford and Glen Rose, to Stephenville and Strawn. Production began in January and wrapped in early June.

The series is the latest show from Sheridan to hit the small screen for Paramount+, joining the two “Yellowstone” spinoff shows “1883” and “1923,” along with “Tulsa King,” “Mayor of Kingstown” and “Special Ops: Lioness.”

Is “Bass Reeves” connected to “Yellowstone”?

Yes and no, maybe so.

A limited series about the real-life lawmen was first announced in September 2021, with Sheridan and Oyelowo attached. The news came just a few months before the first “Yellowstone” spinoff — “1883” — premiered on Paramount+ in December 2021.

Deadline reported in May 2022, that the previously untitled show was now called “1883: The Bass Reeves Story”. Off of the show’s name alone, it seemed that the titular real-life lawmen might interact with the fictional characters seen in “1883”.

However, nearly a year later in April 2023, the show received another title change — “Lawmen: Bass Reeves”. The name change to “lawmen” could suggest that Sheridan and crew have additional shows planned for other historic law enforcement officers.

As “Bass Reeves” gears up to premiere this weekend, only time will tell if characters from “1883” will pop-up in the new series.

What else is playing at the Lone Star Film Festival?

Beyond “Bass Reeves,” film fans have plenty to see over the festival’s four days.

Five narrative feature films will screen in-competition at the festival, along with five feature documentaries. Nearly 50 short films will also screen at the festival in different block sections.

There’s also a few showcase titles along with “Bass Reeves” that will screen out-of-competition at the festival including:

• “Crescendo”: A documentary about the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, which is held in Fort Worth.

• “LANE: Life | Legend | Legacy”: A documentary about Lane Frost, the famous rodeo cowboy who was killed in the ring at only 25-years-old.

• “Red Headed Stranger”: The 1986 western starring Willie Nelson as a gun-toting reverend.

• “Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse”: A western based on the Michael Martin Murphey song “Wildfire”.

A full selection of Lone Star Film Festival titles can be found here, along with the weekend schedule here. Tickets for each screening cost $10 or there’s a pass for $255 that includes access to the entire festival. Purchase tickets here.