Netflix Releases Steampunk Western Bass x Machina

Netflix released all six episodes of the animated series Bass x Machina on Tuesday. The show reimagines the historical figure Bass Reeves as a lawman in a steampunk version of the American West. The production was created by LeSean Thomas and produced by the Korean studio Studio Mir.

Bass Reeves was a real person who worked as a U.S. Marshal after escaping slavery. His life has already inspired the Taylor Sheridan series and HBO’s Watchmen. In this new adaptation, Brian Tyree Henry provides the voice for Reeves. Henry also serves as an executive producer on the project. The character retains his historical name but operates in a world filled with high technology and fantasy elements.

The series depicts a frontier where mechanical suits shaped like bulls and guns that shoot goop are common. Bass possesses a robot arm that can fire lasers. He acquired the limb during a brutal experiment conducted by General Rivenbark, a Confederate commander who is still at large. Rivenbark is voiced by Currie Graham. The show portrays a society where racial prejudice remains a harsh constraint despite the advanced technology.

In the narrative, Bass is a married man expecting his third child. He works as a bounty hunter before becoming a Marshal. The show notes that Black bounties pay half the rate of white ones in this setting. Bass joins a journey into the Badlands with Dana Starr, a precocious child and aspiring engineer voiced by Tati Gabrielle. Dana is searching for her missing uncle during this trip.

The story places members of the Choctaw nation at the center of the plot. Lighthorse, voiced by Chaske Spencer, serves as a friend to Bass. The group also interacts with the Holy People, a group of mystics who control natural elements. Etta, a Native inventor voiced by Starletta DuPois, lives in a hideout equipped with electrified fruit trees. She describes her methods as science rather than magic, challenging traditional narratives about Indigenous people.

The series explores the tension between following laws and breaking them when those laws were not designed to protect certain groups. A train robbery on a monorail with segregated cars triggers a debate on this topic. Ahni, a lightning wielder voiced by Cree Summer, brands Bass an enemy for not joining her violent crusade. His wife Glory, voiced by Janelle Monáe, urges him to control his anger. Monáe also sings the theme song for the series.

The animation style draws inspiration from anime. The visual design features creatures that walk on legs and characters who use fire to defeat enemies. The show balances these action sequences with philosophical questions about representation and social order. The production aims to amplify the presence of Black and Native figures in a mythologized past.

Bass x Machina is now streaming on Netflix. The series consists of six episodes. It offers a blend of historical inspiration and speculative fiction.