Few actors bring the same unshakable gravitas as Mo Brings Plenty. And as an enrolled tribal member of the Lakota Nation and resident of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, his lived experiences have become central to the authenticity of Taylor Sheridan’s Western properties.
For both Yellowstone and its spinoffs, 1883 and 1923, Brings Plenty has served as the American Indian Consultant in kind. His guidance helps ensure everything from set and costume design to crucial history are represented accurately. But even more so, he has become a source of support and inspiration for his Native American co-stars, something 1923‘s Aminah Nieves deeply praised in our interview.
Yet it still comes as a welcomed surprise that we’ll be seeing him on screen in another Sheridan project. Today, Paramount announced via Deadline that Mo Brings Plenty is joining the cast of Lawmen: Bass Reeves in a recurring role.
According to their report, Brings Plenty will play Minco Dodge, a Choctaw Native American and friend to Bass Reeves (David Oyelowo).
Mo Brings Plenty’s Character Name Further Distances ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ from ‘Yellowstone’
Sheridan’s Bass Reeves show was previously titled 1883: The Bass Reeves Story. This had it set as a continuation of 1883, making it another prequel to Yellowstone. This has changed, however.
Per our initial report at the beginning of May, the property was retitled Lawmen: Bass Reeves. In short, the show was restructured to launch a Lawmen series focus ing on other real-life legends of the American West instead of Yellowstone fiction. Now, the logline reads:
“Lawmen: Bass Reeves will bring the legendary lawman of the wild west to life. Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded.”
There was no mention of 1883 or Yellowstone in the May update. Taylor Sheridan’s long-gestating Bass Reeves story has, in essence, completely switched focus.
Mo Brings Plenty’s character name seems to further distance the property from Yellowstone, too. In 1923, Sheridan cast Cole Brings Plenty, the real life nephew of Mo, as Pete Plenty Clouds. This established both Pete and his uncle, Hank (Michael Greyeyes) as ancestors of Yellowstone‘s Mo.
With a different name and tribal ancestry, Bass Reeves‘ Minco Dodge feels a separate lineage altogether. We’ll find out when the series hits Paramount+ if the connections to Sheridan’s flagship show have been dropped altogether.
Further ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ Cast Announced
In the meantime, Dale Dickey (A Love Song) and Margot Bingham (The Walking Dead) are also joining Lawmen. Tosin Morohunfola (Run The World) is onboard in a recurring role, too.
Per Deadline, Dickey will play Widow Dolliver, an old woman who has seen it all. She does not waste time suffering fools.
Bingham will play Sara Jumper, a black Seminole Native American whom Bass will owe a debt of gratitude toward.
Lastly, Morohunfola will play Jackson “Jackrabbit” Cole, a former Union soldier turned prisoner that rides along with Bass Reeves.
The Paramount+ series is currently filming in Texas, but no release date has been set.
For more on who’s starring in the show, see our Meet the cast of Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ next.