Netflix’s New 6-Part Series That Beat Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Is Perfect for Taylor Sheridan Fans

Netflix has a new gunslinger in town, and he is bringing some serious firepower. Bass X Machina, a six-episode animated Western starring Brian Tyree Henry, premiered on November 3, 2026, blending frontier justice with steampunk technology. Combining futuristic machinery with frontier mythology, the series offers a different take on the animated action genre popularized by titles such as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Its early critical reception will help determine whether it can match that show’s acclaim.

Created by LeSean Thomas, the series follows Bass Reeves, a real-life frontier lawman reimagined as a cybernetically enhanced bounty hunter battling criminals, machines, and supernatural threats. The historical connection makes it particularly intriguing for Taylor Sheridan fans. The Yellowstone creator previously executive produced Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023), an eight-episode Paramount+ drama starring David Oyelowo as the same legendary figure.

Netflix has now taken that familiar frontier hero and thrown the Western rulebook out the saloon doors.

Why Bass X Machina Outguns Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Credit:- Netflix

While Cyberpunk: Edgerunners explores a technologically enhanced dystopia, Bass X Machina brings futuristic machinery into an alternative American West. The story begins with Reeves, a bounty hunter whose mechanical arm doubles as a formidable weapon. When the U.S. Army recruits Bass to find a missing scientist, his mission carries an even greater responsibility: preventing a second Civil War.

His journey introduces Dana Starr, a young inventor voiced by Tati Gabrielle, while Janelle Monáe plays his wife, Glory. Cree Summer, Chaske Spencer, Currie Graham, and Starletta DuPois round out the principal voice cast. The series comes from South Korea’s Studio Mir, whose credits include The Legend of Korra, X-Men ’97, and Netflix’s Devil May Cry. Henry wanted something more ambitious than another conventional Western. Speaking at Anime NYC, the actor explained his creative ambition, telling What’s on Netflix:

He also emphasized the importance of depicting Black, Latino, and Indigenous contributions to frontier history, perspectives frequently marginalized in traditional Westerns. That ambition distinguishes the series from an ordinary genre mashup. Its machinery provides the spectacle, but the underlying conflict concerns justice, discrimination, and the cost of protecting one’s family.

The early reviews suggest the experiment has struck a chord. RogerEbert praised the animation and thematic ambition while criticizing repetitive exchanges between Reeves and Dana. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners holds a 90% overall critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, while its first season has a separate 100% rating. Bass X Machina has yet to establish a comparable Tomatometer score, making any claim that it has surpassed the anime premature.

Why Taylor Sheridan Fans Should Watch Bass X Machina

Credit: Netflix

The connection runs deeper than two television shows sharing a historical protagonist. Born into slavery in 1838, Bass Reeves escaped during the Civil War and later became one of the first Black deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi. His decades-long career reportedly included more than 3,000 arrests. Sheridan helped bring that remarkable life to television through Lawmen: Bass Reeves, although Chad Feehan created and ran the series.

In a 2023 interview with TheWrap, Feehan explained how Sheridan introduced him to David Oyelowo, who had spent years trying to develop a Reeves project. The resulting Paramount+ drama emphasized the moral burden of enforcing the law in a country still scarred by slavery and racial injustice. Netflix’s version approaches similar questions through science fiction.

Instead of Oyelowo’s grounded portrayal, Henry plays a battle-scarred Reeves equipped with a mechanical arm. His enemies include technological monstrosities, and his mission threatens the family he is determined to protect. That combination should appeal to viewers who enjoy the morally complicated heroes of Yellowstone, 1883, and 1923.

Yet Bass X Machina is not a Sheridan production, nor is it connected to Lawmen: Bass Reeves. It is an independent fictional reinterpretation of the same historical figure. Henry also told Polygon that Netflix’s willingness to experiment with animation attracted him to the project, citing Blue Eye Samurai as an example of storytelling he admired. The result is a Western that preserves the genre’s familiar questions about justice, loyalty, and survival while replacing traditional gunfights with mechanical mayhem.

Would you rather see Bass Reeves in Sheridan’s historical Western or Netflix’s steampunk adventure? Share your thoughts in the comments and follow FandomWire for more streaming recommendations.

All six episodes of Bass X Machina are streaming on Netflix.