Black Sails (TV series)

For other uses, see Black Sails (disambiguation).

Black Sails
Genre
Created by
Starring
ComposerBear McCreary
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes38 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Nina Heyns
  • Jonathan Brytus
  • Erik Henry
Production locationsCape Town, South Africa
Cinematography
Editors
  • Joe Hobeck
  • Paul Trejo
  • John Coniglio
Running time49–71 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkStarz
ReleaseJanuary 25, 2014 (2014-01-25) –
April 2, 2017 (2017-04-02)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Black Sails is an American historical adventure television series set on New Providence Island. It was written to be a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island,[1] while also including depictions of several real-life historical figures and fictionalized versions of actual historical events. The series was created by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine for Starz. It 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. The show depicts treasure-seeking pirates in their attempt to establish a Republic of Pirates.

On July 26, 2013, Starz renewed the show for a ten-episode second season, which premiered on January 24, 2015. The early renewal, six months before the first season premiered, was based on the positive fan reaction to the show at the San Diego Comic-Con.[4] The series was renewed for a third season on October 12, 2014, and a fourth season on July 31, 2015, both before the respective previous seasons had premiered.[5][6] On July 20, 2016, Starz announced that the series' fourth season would be its last; the season premiered on January 29, 2017, and the series concluded on April 2, 2017.[7][8]

  1. ^ Schwartz, Terri (January 10, 2014). "'Black Sails': 'Treasure Island' will hopefully connect, Season 2 being filmed - Zap2it - News & Features". Zap2it. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  2. ^ Todd Spangler: Starz to Release Michael Bay's 'Black Sails' Premiere Episode for Free on YouTube, iTunes, Amazon and More Archived November 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Variety.com, January 13, 2014
  3. ^ "Black Sails: Starz Series Starts January 25th". TV Series Finale. November 20, 2013. Archived from the original on November 21, 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. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  5. ^ "Black Sails Renewed For Season 3 By Starz!". Seriable. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  6. ^ Rawden, Jessica (July 31, 2015). "Black Sails Has Been Renewed For Season 4 By Starz". CinemaBlend. Gateway Media. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  7. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (July 20, 2016). "Black Sails to End With Season 4". TVLine. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  8. ^ "Black Sails Season 4 Trailer from the New York Comic Con". ComingSoon. October 7, 2016. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2016.