David and Jessica Oyelowo have found a home for their production company Yoruba Saxon at ViacomCBS and putting in their roots with a rich slate at the studio.
Their exclusive overall deal at ViacomCBS and MTV Entertainment Studios will see the couple develop scripted and unscripted projects through Yoruba Saxon. Under the pact, they will work alongside 101 Studios as a production partner. Their first project will be Bass Reeves a limited series.
In Bass Reeves, the actor will star as the Wild West lawman known as the greatest frontier hero in American history and the inspiration for The Lone Ranger. Taylor Sheridan (Sicario, Yellowstone) will produce the potential series.
David said of the limited series: “The stories Jess and I want to tell are boundary-busting and full of folks the likes of whom we have seldom seen on screen. The extraordinary story of Bass Reeves exemplifies just that. To collaborate with world-class talent like Taylor Sheridan to tell those stories to the widest audience possible is our dream, and we believe that can and will be realized through the shared ambitions we have with ViacomCBS and its signature branded platforms, alongside our seasoned and brilliant producing partners at 101 Studios.”
“David and Jessica are incredibly talented artists, and we’re excited to develop our Bass Reeves project together with them and our phenomenal partner Taylor Sheridan,” said Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group. “As the first Black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River, Reeves’ story is monumental, and this limited series will bring to light one of the greatest frontier heroes in our country’s history.”
