Reeves Canyon is an immersive audio drama available on all major podcasting platforms. Developed by writer/composer Junior Coggins and actor/director Lindsay Johnson, the western thriller tells the story of two U.S. Marshals bringing a corrupt sheriff to justice. Throughout the journey they’re pursued by a mysterious outlaw that has questions of his own for the sheriff.
There’s something comforting about a good western. It’s a genre that’s embedded in our pop culture DNA. Whether you grew up spending your Saturday afternoons at a theater watching Westerns, playing Red Dead Redemption on your XBox 360 or you only know Clint Eastwood as Marty McFly’s alias in Back to the Future III, the tropes and beats are ingrained in us whether we’re conscious of it or not. They’re modern day fairy tales with easily identifiable white hatted heroes, black hatted villains, and the occasional gray hatted scoundrel that builds a soft spot in your heart.
Reeves Canyon hits many of those same beats, with a voice distinctly its own. The actors do an excellent job of breathing life into each protagonist. The hour and six minute run time allows for some solid character development. Like any good Western, you’ve gotta peel back the layers to get to everyone’s real motivations.
Joshua Chenier and Lindsay Johnson have good chemistry as the U.S. Marshals, Will and Riggs. They enter the story with a shorthand developed from the months of riding in each others company. Bob Pierre’s Sheriff is the perfect balance of weaselly chicken shit and lovable loser that endears you to the character. Benjamin Rowe as Billy Bradshaw, the once notorious outlaw looking for answers, plays the cool and mysterious badass with the best of them.
Reeves Canyon takes inspiration from radio dramas like War of the Worlds and enhances the experience with sound effects, atmosphere and original music from Coggins. The result is similar to an audio graphic novel, an intimate experience where your imagination paints the pictures from the sound and emotion conveyed in the story. I’d love to see Sanford Greene do a graphic novel or miniseries in a western setting. Reeves Canyon would lend itself perfectly to the style and tone he established in Bitter Root.
I enjoyed the hell out of Reeves Canyon. I could spend a lot more time with these characters. It feels like their journey has just begun. According to Johnson, a follow up is in the works. I’m eager to hear what lies beyond Reeves Canyon. This feels more like the beginning of a good trilogy than a stand alone.
