Lately, I’d been in the mood to watch a new TV show that was a historical or period piece. Some of my favorite shows are period pieces. Outlander, Shogun, and Peaky Blinders are a few of my favorites. Then I saw the Starz Original, Black Sails, was on Netflix and decided to give a try. It’s not only a period piece set in the 1700s, but also a swashbuckling pirate drama. I knew as the opening credits rolled (which is epic, by the way) that I was going to enjoy the shit out of this show. And boy was I satisfied.
The show takes place during the golden age of piracy. England and Spain are at war with one another. Captain James Flint and his not-so-merry pirates fight to protect New Providence Island from colonial rule. The port city of Nassau becomes the central location where the majority of the conflicts of the show to take place. Those on the island want nothing to do with the British Empire as pirates have been declared an enemy of mankind.
The show features a variety of characters based on historical figures, though they’re all fictionalized versions of them. There are a few characters, such as Long John Silver and Captain James Flint, who weren’t actual people from history, but characters from Treasure Island. According to the internet, the show serves as a prequel to the classic novel, and the writers weave a very exciting and compelling tale on the high seas.
The cinematography is some of the best I’ve seen in a television show. As you can imagine, there are a variety of shots of ships sailing around the sea, and feature some of the most epic naval battles captured on film. The port city of Nassau is well designed and completely immersive. Not to mention the costumes and set pieces. The production team behind this show really went all out in terms of immersing the audience in this world and I believe they did an excellent job in doing so.
I’m a bit surprised no one on this show ever received an Emmy nomination for their performances. Going into it, I was expecting the acting to be over-the-top. In some cases, that does ring true. But I had never heard of some of these actors going into it (besides Tom Hopper who I’ve seen in Umbrella Academy), and I wish they received the recognition they deserve. Hannah New, who played Eleanor Guthrie, arguably had some of the best scenes in the entire show, especially when she was on-screen with Jessica Parker Kennedy (Max).
Fortunately, this show wasn’t canceled before they could finish the series, so the audience was able to witness a true closing to the show, which was probably my only complaint. The ending. I won’t go into it for spoiler reasons, but for me, it felt a bit rushed and, in some way, a bit of a cop-out. But that didn’t ruin the journey I took as I plowed through this series. Also, this show was brutal. Extremely violent. Some of the scenes are pretty hard to watch at times.
Watching this show reminded me of why I love historical dramas and I may start watching more in 2025. It also got me excited for season 2 of One Piece, which is another pirate show based on an anime of the same name. I loved season 1 and I hope we start seeing more live-action pirate shows.
If you care to check out this show, all seasons are streaming on Netflix.
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