# Netflix Steampunk Western ‘Bass x Machina’ Is a Crackling Mix of Fantasy and Reality: TV Review

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/netflix-steampunk-western-bass-x-machina-is-a-crackling-mix-of-fantasy-and-reality-tv-review/
- Published: 2026-11-03T08:01:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T08:56:00+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/tv/reviews/bass-x-machina-review-netflix-steampunk-1236937785/
- Topics: Asia, Business, Companies, Entertainment, Space, Technology, TV, World

## Key points

- Netflix reimagines Bass Reeves in a steampunk Western.
- The series pairs inventive action with questions about racism and law.
- All six episodes are streaming now.

## Summary

Netflix’s animated Western “Bass x Machina” reimagines real U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves in a steampunk frontier, blending elaborate inventions and action with questions about racism and justice. The review says the series uses its alternate history to explore how a Black lawman might serve a social order that fails to protect him, while remaining entertaining.

Voiced by Brian Tyree Henry, Bass has a robot arm gained through a Confederate experiment during the Civil War. He takes one last bounty job with Dana Starr, a young aspiring engineer, and encounters segregated train cars, Choctaw characters and others whose lives challenge familiar Western portrayals. The six-episode series also features Janelle Monáe as Bass’s wife, Glory, and is streaming on Netflix.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.