“Spartacus” may be gone, but STARZ has a group of pirates moving into its Friday night lineup.
“Black Sails” is technically a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel “Treasure Island,” but in all honesty that connection seems to be tenuous. The focus of “Black Sails” is on Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) — a character who was mentioned in “Treasure Island” — as he attempts to become the leader of New Providence, an island overrun and controlled by pirates.
Twenty years before the events of “Treasure Island,” the infamous Long John Silver (Luke Arnold) serves under Captain Flint while pursuing his own agenda. Zach McGowan costars as Flint’s rival Captain Charles Vane; with Toby Schmitz as Rackham; Hannah New as Eleanor Guthrie and Jessica Parker Kennedy as a young prostitute named Max.
Through a special arrangement with Machinima, the first episode of “Black Sails” has been released online. There is a brief featurette about the premise of “Black Sails” that kicks off the video, but the entire episode is there minus a few edits for adult content.
The uncensored version of “Black Sails” episode 1 will premiere on STARZ this Saturday, January 25.
