Netflix frequently licenses content from other sources, and that often can turn into big hits for the service. The most famous examples of these are probably Manifest, which got so much interest sitting at #1 for weeks it actually greenlit an entire final season. And then of course Suits, which had millions upon millions of hours watched, and inspired a new spin-off set in LA.
But this week, Netflix added two great shows, Killing Eve and Black Sails. And it’s Black Sails I want to talk about, because I believe it is the best series, a complete series, that Netflix has added this whole year. And it’s very apparent that not enough people are watching it.
Black Sails is currently at just #8 on Netflix’s Top 10 list after its debut, and I’m not sure it ever got much higher than that. And that is a travesty. It’s an excellent series, easily the single best pirate show ever produced (apologies to Our Flag Means Death), but almost everyone missed it because it originally aired from 2014 to 2017 on Starz, everyone’s fourth favorite premium channel.
Now, Netflix finally grabbed it and you can see how great it is for yourself. It’s true, the series is not stocked with big-name actors, but it draws excellent performances from its leads like Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Zach McGowan, Luke Arnold and Jessica Parker Kennedy.
The story uses Captain Flint, played by Stephens, as its lead, a fictional pirate that appears in Treasure Island, and the entire series replicates bits and pieces of that classic story and mainly servers as a prequel. John Silver is played by Luke Arnold, but the series adds many new characters like McGowan’s Charles Vane, and adds in some historical pirates like Anne Bonny, played by Clara Paget.
The series is stellar, full of drama, romance, betrayal, intense action, and a whole lot of violence and nudity as its pirate setting deserves. Those who have seen the series know how great it is. It has a stellar 8.2 on IMDB (trust me, that’s very high for IMDB) and is in the 80s on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and audiences.
I do not want to ruin too much about the series, as there is a lot to discover as it unfolds, but in terms of period pieces, it is to pirates what Vikings is to vikings, what Deadwood is to cowboys and what Game of Thrones is to fantasy dragon worlds. It’s excellent and I’m not sure when we’re ever going to see another pirate series at this level. Check it out.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.