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Black Sails (TV series)

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For other uses, see Black Sails (disambiguation).
Black Sails
GenreDrama
Adventure
Created by
Directed byNeil Marshall
Sam Miller
Marc Munden
T.J. Scott
Starring
ComposerBear McCreary
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes18 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducersNina Heyns
Brad Caleb Kane
Production locationCape Town, South Africa
CinematographyLukus Ettlin
Jules O'Loughlin
EditorsJoe Hobeck
Paul Trejo
Production companiesPlatinum Dunes
Quaker Moving Pictures
Film Afrika Worldwide
Original release
NetworkStarz
ReleaseJanuary 25, 2014 (2014-01-25) –
present
Releasespecial effects supervisor
Releasespecial effects supervisor
Releasespecial effects supervisor
Releasespecial effects supervisor
Releasespecial effects supervisor
Releasespecial effects supervisor
Releasespecial 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.[1] 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.[2] The debut on cable television followed a week later on January 25, 2014.[3] 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.[4] In France and Germany, the premiere episode was released two weeks earlier on January 10, 2014, on the Pay TV Channel Starz.[5] On January 17, 2014, Starz released the first episode on YouTube, but later set the video to private.[6]

The series was renewed for a third season on October 12, 2014, before its second season had started airing.[7]

Plot

Set roughly two decades before the events of Treasure Island and during the Golden Age of Piracy,[1] 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.[8][9]

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.[10]

For the amount of detail that was added to the vessels, it took over 300 workers to build just one ship.[11]

Season 2 premiered on January 24, 2015, though the show was renewed for Season 3 on October 11, 2014.[12]

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
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
18January 25, 2014 (2014-01-25)March 15, 2014 (2014-03-15)
210January 24, 2015 (2015-01-24)March 28, 2015 (2015-03-28)
310January 23, 2016 (2016-01-23)March 26, 2016 (2016-03-26)
410January 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."[16] On Metacritic season one has a score of 58 of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17]

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."[18] Robert Lloyd of The Los Angeles Times said, "Black Sails is a pirate treasure. The Starz series vividly depicts the daily life of pirates."[19] Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly said, "Not even a guilty pleasure, Black Sails is arrrrrr-estingly good.".[20] 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."[21]

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."[22] Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club said, "Black Sails is a handsome illusion at times, but it rarely finds its way beyond that."[23]

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.[24]

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.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b Terri Schwartz (10 January 2014). "'Black Sails': 'Treasure Island' will hopefully connect, Season 2 being filmed - Zap2it - News & Features". Zap2it.
  2. ^ Todd Spangler: Starz to Release Michael Bay's 'Black Sails' Premiere Episode for Free on YouTube, iTunes, Amazon and More. Variety.com, 2014-1-13
  3. ^ "Black Sails: Starz Series Starts January 25th". TV Series Finale. November 20, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  4. ^ Bibel, Sara (July 26, 2013). "'Black Sails' Renewed for Ten Episode Second Season by Starz Months Before Its Premiere – Updated". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  5. ^ "Black Sails" (in French). February 25, 2014.
  6. ^ YouTube "Black Sails Episode I". Retrieved 18 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. ^ "Black Sails Renewed For Season 3 By Starz!". Seriable. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Starz Embarks on an Early Renewal for Second Season Order of the Original Series "Black Sails"". Futon Critic. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  9. ^ "South Africa's Cape Town Studios prepares for pirate miniseries Black Sails".
  10. ^ Hibberd, James. "'Black Sails': See the awesome opening credits with theme from 'Walking Dead' composer – EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Black Sails: Building the Behemoth". Starz. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Black Sails Renewed for Season 3". IGN.
  13. ^ "ROLAND REED". evelynbrink.co.za.
  14. ^ "Arentz Hanson - Diamond Management - Artist Representation and Management".
  15. ^ Friedlander, Whitney. "'Divergent's' Ray Stevenson Joins Starz's 'Black Sails' as Blackbeard". Variety. Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  16. ^ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/black-sails/s01/
  17. ^ "Black Sails". Metacritic.
  18. ^ Goodman, Tim (January 21, 2014). "Black Sails: TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  19. ^ Lloyd, Robert (2014-01-25). "Review: 'Black Sails' is a pirate treasure". latimes.com. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  20. ^ "Black Sails TV Review | TV Reviews and News". EW.com. 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  21. ^ "Critic Reviews for Black Sails Season 1 - Metacritic". Metacritic.
  22. ^ Lowry, Brian (January 23, 2014). "TV Review: 'Black Sails'". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  23. ^ VanDerWerff, Todd (January 23, 2014). "Black Sails is a tale of a bloodthirsty pirate bureaucracy". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  24. ^ "Black Sails: Season 2". rottentomatoes.com. 24 January 2015.
  25. ^ "Black Sails". Television Academy. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
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