Black Sails (TV series)

For other uses, see Black Sails (disambiguation).

Black Sails
Genre	Drama Adventure
Created by	Jonathan E. Steinberg Robert Levine
Directed by	Neil Marshall Sam Miller Marc Munden T.J. Scott
Starring	Toby Stephens Hannah New Luke Arnold Jessica Parker Kennedy Tom Hopper Zach McGowan Toby Schmitz Clara Paget Mark Ryan Hakeem Kae-Kazim Sean Cameron Michael Louise Barnes Rupert Penry-Jones
Composer	Bear McCreary
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Chris Symes Jonathan E. Steinberg Michael Bay Brad Fuller Andrew Form
Producers	Nina Heyns Brad Caleb Kane
Production location	Cape Town, South Africa
Cinematography	Lukus Ettlin Jules O'Loughlin
Editors	Joe Hobeck Paul Trejo
Production companies	Platinum Dunes Quaker Moving Pictures Film Afrika Worldwide
Original release
Network	Starz
Release	January 25, 2014 (2014-01-25) – present
Release	special effects supervisor
Release	special effects supervisor
Release	special effects supervisor
Release	special effects supervisor
Release	special effects supervisor
Release	special effects supervisor
Release	special effects supervisor

Black Sails is an American dramatic adventure television series set on New Providence Island and a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. The series was created by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine for Starz that debuted online for free on YouTube and other various streaming platform and video on demand services on January 18, 2014. The debut on cable television followed a week later on January 25, 2014. Steinberg is executive producer, alongside Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, while Michael Angeli, Doris Egan, and Levine are co-executive producers.

On July 26, 2013, Starz renewed the show for a ten-episode second season, which premiered on January 24, 2015. The early renewal was based on the positive fan reaction to the show at the San Diego Comic-Con. In France and Germany, the premiere episode was released two weeks earlier on January 10, 2014, on the Pay TV Channel Starz. On January 17, 2014, Starz released the first episode on YouTube, but later set the video to private.

The series was renewed for a third season on October 12, 2014, before its second season had started airing.

Plot

Set roughly two decades before the events of Treasure Island and during the Golden Age of Piracy, the feared Captain Flint brings on a younger crew member as they fight for the survival of New Providence Island. According to the first episode, "In 1715, West Indies, the pirates of New Providence Island threaten maritime trade in the region. The laws of every civilized nation declare them hostis humani generis; enemies of all mankind. In response, the pirates adhere to a doctrine of their own....war against the world."

Real life pirates that are fictionalized in the show include Anne Bonny, Benjamin Hornigold, Jack Rackham, Charles Vane, and Ned Low.

The plot of the first season focuses on the hunt for the Spanish treasure galleon Urca de Lima. At the beginning of the second season, the treasure from the Urca de Lima has been stranded on an island with Spanish soldiers guarding it, but by the conclusion of the second season, the treasure has been taken by Jack Rackham and his crew and brought to New Providence Island.

Production

The series is filmed at Cape Town Film Studios in Cape Town, South Africa, with local production company Film Afrika.

The opening title sequence was made by Imaginary Forces and directors Michelle Dougherty and Karin Fong with the backing sea shanty inspired theme composed by Battlestar Galactica and The Walking Dead composer Bear McCreary. It accurately features an instrument of the period in the form of the hurdy-gurdy.

For the amount of detail that was added to the vessels, it took over 300 workers to build just one ship.

Season 2 premiered on January 24, 2015, though the show was renewed for Season 3 on October 11, 2014.

Cast

Regular

Actor	Character	Ship/Location	Occupation	Count	Seasons
					1	2	3
Toby Stephens	James Flint	Walrus/Spanish Man O' War	Captain	18	Main
Hannah New	Eleanor Guthrie	Nassau	Chief Fence and Supplier	17	Main
Luke Arnold	John Silver	Walrus/Spanish Man O' War	Cook, Quartermaster	18	Main
Jessica Parker Kennedy	Max	Nassau	Prostitute, Brothel madame	18	Main
Tom Hopper	William "Billy Bones" Manderly	Walrus/Spanish Man O' War	Boatswain	14	Main
Zach McGowan	Charles Vane	Ranger/Nassau/Fancy	Captain and Steward of the Fort	18	Main
Toby Schmitz	Jack Rackham	Ranger/Nassau/Colonial Dawn	Quartermaster, Brothel manager, Captain	17	Main
Clara Paget	Anne Bonny	Ranger/Nassau/Colonial Dawn	Crew Mate	17	Main
Mark Ryan	Mr. Gates	Walrus/Ranger	Quartermaster, Captain	8	Main
Hakeem Kae-Kazim	Mr. Scott	Nassau/La Concorde/Spanish Man O' War	Adviser to Eleanor Guthrie and Captain Benjamin Hornigold	16	Main
Sean Cameron Michael	Richard Guthrie	Nassau	Governor	10	Main
Louise Barnes	Miranda Hamilton/Barlow	New Providence	Resident	14	Main
Rupert Penry-Jones	Thomas Hamilton	London	Son of Lord Proprietor Alfred Hamilton	5		Recurring
Ryan Stevenson	Blackbeard	Queen Anne's revenge	Captain	?			Main

Supporting and recurring

2

Series overview

Main article: List of Black Sails episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	8		January 25, 2014 (2014-01-25)	March 15, 2014 (2014-03-15)
2	10		January 24, 2015 (2015-01-24)	March 28, 2015 (2015-03-28)
3	10		January 23, 2016 (2016-01-23)	March 26, 2016 (2016-03-26)
4	10		January 29, 2017 (2017-01-29)	April 2, 2017 (2017-04-02)

Reception

The first season of Black Sails received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds a rating of 64%, based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's consensus reads, "Black Sails boasts visual appeal, but the show's bland characters aren't strong enough to keep the show from being dragged down into its murky depths of aimless exposition." On Metacritic season one has a score of 58 of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter said, "This ambitious pirate story is helped immensely by going beyond the pay cable freedoms that often bog down lesser shows in boobs, blood and sex. Black Sails steers itself out of that realm after a few episodes and makes a play for bigger, more complicated stories." Robert Lloyd of The Los Angeles Times said, "Black Sails is a pirate treasure. The Starz series vividly depicts the daily life of pirates." Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly said, "Not even a guilty pleasure, Black Sails is arrrrrr-estingly good.". Tom Long of the Detroit Times commented "Alliances are made and broken, power shifts go this way and that, blood is spilled, and wenches keep wenching. It's oddly addictive, and the cast--made up mostly of British, Australian and Canadian actors--is as sharp as you'd expect from pay cable."

Conversely, Brian Lowry of Variety said, "Black Sails never quite takes off, developing into a tired treasure hunt with indifferent casting and stock characters. Counting Michael Bay among its producers, this South Africa-lensed production might tempt adventure-seeking viewers to plunge into its crystal-blue waters, but despite some handsome aspects, the show ultimately proves as hollow as its CGI-rendered ships." Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club said, "Black Sails is a handsome illusion at times, but it rarely finds its way beyond that."

The second season of the show currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10.

Accolades

Black Sails received four nominations for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music, Outstanding Main Title Design, Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series at the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

External links

• Official website
• Black Sails at IMDb
• Black Sails at TV Guide