Netflix's 'Bass X Machina' Is the Dark Western Epic You Didn't Know You Needed | Review

    &lt;<img src="https://static0.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/bass-x-machina-episode-2-brian-tyree-henry-02.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1" />
    Image via Netflix</figure>

Steampunk Westerns aren’t a new subgenre, but rarely has the balance between Old West society and sci-fi technology been struck so perfectly as in Bass X Machina. Cybernetics is something that is shown to be resisted by humans, mirroring our current-day relationship with AI, and that allows the story to begin in a predominantly Western setting while slowly broadening the world’s horizons as it progresses. Little touches, such as robot bartenders or Dana’s notepad, suggest a society on the verge of a technological leap beyond our present capabilities.

That blend of Western and sci-fi also gives way to fascinating locations like the workshop of Etta (Starletta DuPois), a bad-tempered inventor who becomes Dana’s idol, or the mesmerizing final showdown set in a construction site filled with robots and shining cogs. It’s a marvel to behold, with the animators putting an impressive level of detail into these environments while also choreographing magnificent action scenes. Bass X Machina‘s biggest strength is that no aspect of the visual or narrative storytelling has been left unattended. Whereas some shows are set in an alternative future simply to look pretty, Netflix’s new animated series uses its fantastical past to drive conversation about real-world issues.

Brian Tyree Henry Leads a Terrific Voice Cast in ‘Bass X Machina’

Henry, who also executive produces the show, is a delight as Bass X Machina‘s narrative anchor. With a deep, booming tone to his delivery, it’s easy to imagine the fear an outlaw may feel when Bass comes looking to collect his bounty. Like Joel in The Last of Us or Kratos in the upcoming God of War, Bass Reeves is the earthy, world-weary veteran who must guide a wide-eyed youngster through a violent world, and Henry’s performance allows the character to be both fearsome with his foes and vulnerable with his allies.

Gabrielle, best known for her roles in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, You, and The Last of Us, shakes things up as Dana, a young and ambitious engineer who believes in doing the right thing. She asks difficult questions of Bass, creating a mentor-mentee dynamic between them despite his best efforts to stop her tagging along. She’s the brains of the duo, riding alongside Bass’ steed on a motorized scooter, and tries to help with gadgets that don’t always work. Dana’s naivety is what gives the show a lot of its humor, as well as its heart.

Four icons and four completely different ways of walking into trouble.
This is the one you would have been out there, why it fits, and what it would have cost you.

You have never explained yourself and you have never needed to,
because people work out fairly quickly that you are the most capable person in the room
without you ever having to mention it.

• Eastwood built the character out of everything he refused to do, stripping away the
  backstory, the speeches and every bit of reassurance until only the competence was left.
• You keep your own counsel, and while other people occasionally find that unnerving, you
  have never felt any real need to fix it for them.
• The Dollars films work because he genuinely is in it for himself right up until the
  moment he is not, and he never explains that part either.
• You would be gone before anybody got a chance to thank you.

You are the funniest person in most rooms and the most loyal
person in all of them, and you would be genuinely insulted if somebody suggested those two
things were in any tension.

• Doc has no real reason to be in this fight beyond the fact that his friend is in it,
  which is the only reason he has ever needed for anything.
• You lead with wit, and it does a very effective job of hiding how seriously you take the
  handful of people you actually care about.
• Val Kilmer’s performance is the most quoted in the entire genre because the jokes keep
  getting sharper as the situation gets worse.
• You would spend everything you had on this and still describe it as a good week.

You never wanted this job, and you took it anyway because the
alternative was standing there watching somebody less careful do it badly, which is the most
Western reason there has ever been.

• Earp is the reluctant authority figure, a man who came to town specifically to be left
  alone and somehow ended up answerable for all of it.
• You are protective by instinct, so when something goes wrong your first thought is who
  is exposed rather than who is to blame.
• These films understand that keeping order costs far more than breaking it, and that the
  person holding the line almost never gets thanked.
• You would do the whole thing again, and you would complain about it the entire time.

Nobody has ever successfully talked you out of something you had
already decided was right, and a long line of grown adults has found that out the hard way.

• Mattie is the most relentless character in the Western canon and she manages it through
  argument, paperwork and flat refusal rather than a fast draw.
• You have no patience for being managed, so you negotiate, you check the details and you
  turn up exactly when you said you would.
• True Grit is the rare Western where the moral centre is the youngest person on screen
  and every adult around her has to catch up.
• You would get what you came for, and the film is honest about what that takes out of
  you.

Some excellent vocal performances amplify the duo’s journey, particularly former Twilight star Chaske Spencer as Lighthorse, a Native American sheriff and old friend of Bass who is after the same bounty. Janelle Monáe has some moving scenes as Bass’s wife Glory, and also performs the show’s memorable theme song, “HONOR KiLLING.”

Bass X Machina offers a hint of more adventures to come, but only after bringing its story to a satisfying conclusion. That’s probably a wise move, given Netflix’s history of canceling beloved shows after a very limited run. Based on this first season, more Bass Reeves adventures would be most welcome, as the show is a great example of what’s possible within the medium of animation.

Bass X Machina is now streaming on Netflix.

Bass X Machina

Bass X Machina blends steampunk and Western themes for a gripping animated series.

Bass x Machina, released in 2026, is set in a lawless Steampunk West where a father navigates a landscape infested with outlaws, machines, and supernatural terrors. He becomes judge, jury, and executioner to protect his family, though each act of justice threatens to take away those he loves.

• A moving story that blends fantasy with history.
• Incredible animation and action scenes.
• Brian Tyree Henry and Tati Gabrielle make a great team.