‘1883’ creator Taylor Sheridan bringing series about lawman Bass Reeves to Fort Worth
‘Yellowstone’ and ’1883’ creator Taylor Sheridan will film his new series about frontier lawman Bass Reeves in Fort Worth, Mayor Mattie Parker announced during her State of the City address Thursday.
The six-part series is a sequel to ‘1883,’ which prominently featured Fort Worth and was partially filmed in the Stockyards in September 2021.
Reeves was a former slave who became a federal marshal 1875 covering roughly 75,000 square miles of what’s now Arkansas and Oklahoma.
He apprehended roughly 3,000 criminals over a 32-year career, and is rumored to be this inspiration for the fictional character the Lone Ranger.
Parker said production is scheduled to begin in the coming months, and will bring millions of dollars to Fort Worth and continue to raise the city’s profile.
Projects like ‘1883’ and filmmakers like Taylor Sheridan have provided great word-of-mouth for Fort Worth, said Jessica Christopherson, head of Fort Worth’s film commission.
Sheridan is a Paschal High School graduate and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2017 for writing the West Texas-set film ‘Hell or High Water’ starring Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges.
He owns and operates two ranches in his home state: the legendary 6666 Ranch, headquartered in Guthrie, and Bosque Ranch in Weatherford, according to the Fort Worth Film Commission.
The community support when ‘1883’ filmed in Fort Worth in September 2021 was crucial for bringing this new project to the city, she said.
Fort Worth already has a strong talent base in commercial and online video production, but Christopherson said the new Bass Reeves project will attract more talent to the city and grow its creative class.
Hundreds of projects have filmed in Fort Worth since the film commission was established in 2015.
Those projects have generated over $300 million in economic impact, and supported roughly 17,000 jobs, according to commission statistics.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
