How many seasons of Black Sails are there?
StarzPopular pirate series Black Sails has just dropped on Netflix. Here are details of how many seasons of Black Sails there are, plus news of whether the show might continue.
Black Sails is a big-budget series set during the Golden Age of Piracy, and featuring some of the most famous sea-faring villains of the day.
Playing as something of a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, the show came with some pedigree. For a start, it was produced by Michael Bay, the mastermind behind the Transformers movies. Plus, the pilot was directed by Neil Marshall, whose previous credits include the brilliant horror movies Dog Soldiers and The Descent.
Black Sails concluded in 2017, but the show belatedly dropped on Netflix this week. It’s now cruising up the streamer’s TV chart, so here’s full details of what you can watch.
How many seasons of Black Sails are there?
There are currently four season of Black Sails. All of them played on the Starz channel in the US before making the move to Netflix.
Here are details of when they originally aired.
- Season 1: January 25, 2014 – March 14, 2014
- Season 2: January 24, 2015 – March 28, 2015
- Season 3: January 23, 2016 – March 26, 2016
- Season 4: January 29, 2017 – April 2, 2017
The first series consisted of 8 episodes, while Seasons 2-4 were all 10 episodes long.
What is Black Sails about?
Set during the early 18th century, Black Sails pits pirates against the might of the British Empire, in a battle for the treasure of the Urca de Lima, and control of West Indian island New Providence.
While a largely fictional tale, some of Black Sails is inspired by history, with real-life pirates playing a major role in the narrative. Here’s a list of the cutthroat legends who appear, plus who plays them.
- Charles Vane – played by Zach McGowan
- Ned Low – played by Tadhg Murphy
- Anne Bonny – played by Clara Paget
- Benjamin Hornigold – played by Patrick Lyster
- Jack Rackman – played by Toby Schmitz
- Israel Hands – played by David Wilmot
- Edward Teach/Blackbeard – played by Ray Stevenson
Will there be another season of Black Sails?
Black Sails concluded seven years ago, meaning a fifth season is unlikely. But, there have been multiple examples of shows receiving a Netflix bounce, with many series re-invigorated by the streamer, resulting in unexpected resurrection.
Shows that have been acquired and revived on Netflix include Manifest, Lucifer, Cobra Kai, Top Boy, You, and Money Heist. Another solid point of comparison is The Lost Kingdom, an historical drama based on Bernard Cornwell’s book, Saxon Stories. The first series was made by the BBC. Netflix then co-produced Season 2, and in 2018 acquired the sole rights before crafting three more seasons as well as a feature-length sequel in 2023.
If Black Sails finds an audience on the streaming service, don’t be surprised to see new episodes — or even a follow-up film — launching there in the future.
Black Sails is now on Netflix, but you can find more shows launching on streamers this month head here.
