Anchor Bay Entertainment just released a special featurette for their series Black Sails, which will be entering its third season in early 2016. The show is an action-drama set on New Providence Island and is a prequel to the well-known novel Treasure Island. You can pre-order the box set here. Our friends at Anchor Bay are giving us two blu-ray box sets to give away so check back here at the end of this month to find out how to get your hands on one.
The show originally debuted on Youtube and several other streaming platforms, but was picked up by STARZ for a second, third and fourth season after it got impressive reviews from viewers and critics.
Jonathan E. Steinberg, who was the co-creator, writer and producer on Jericho, collaborated with Robert Levine to create Black Sails. Steinberg also produces the show, alongside wildly successful filmmaker Michael Bay.
Black Sails is set about 2 decades before the time of Treasure Island, during what is known as the “Golden Age of Piracy.” This era spanned from the 1650s to the 1730s, when there were notable outbursts of piracy occurring. Many believe this sudden spike in pirating spawned from a rise in valuable products being shipped to Europe, as well as reduced presence of the European navies at sea. The show focuses on Captain Flint, who brings a young crewmember with him as he fights for the survival of New Providence Island. The first episode describes the plot, stating: “In 1715, West Indies, the pirates of New Providence Island threaten maritime trade in the region. The laws of every civilized nation declare them hostis humani generis; enemies of all mankind. In response, the pirates adhere to a doctrine of their own…war against the world.”
The show stars Toby Stephens, who is known for his role as Bond villain Gustav Graves. Actress Jessica Parker Kennedy, who has appeared on such TV series as Smallville, Undercovers and The Secret Circle, also has a reoccurring role on the show.
On November 3rd, STARZ will be releasing the thrilling second season of the series to Blu-ray and DVD. In a three-disc set containing all 10 episodes and exclusive extras, you will be able to catch all of the Black Sails action.
The disc set includes a “Man O’ War” bonus feature that goes behind the scenes of the show and gives audiences a chance to hear the cast and crew discuss the incredibly accurate full-size Spanish Man O’ War ship that was built for the series.
In the short featurette, it is revealed it took about 3 months for 50 people to reconstruct the famous ship design. Made of 2000 sheets of plywood, 15,000 running feet of different timbers and over 16 miles of rope, the ship was created to be an exact duplicate of what you would have seen during the time period of the show.
The clip also dives into the CGI behind the show, including the creation of digital sails that are able to truly embody the motions that come from being on the turbulent sea. It isn’t too surprising that the series has already won two Primetime Emmys: One for special visual effects and another for sound editing.
In the feature, the cast comments about the show’s willingness to take risks and expand what movies have previously shown when it comes to naval action.
And while the show may be filled with actors playing pirates, the ships featured in Black Sail are as real as it gets.
Make sure to grab a copy of Season 2 of Black Sails when it is released on November 3rd and keep an eye out for Season 3 when it returns to STARZ in January 2016.