Starz is a big fan of showing early confidence in its programming. Magic City was notably renewed for a second season just before its premiere aired and Da Vinci’s Demons earned a Season 2 renewal just after its premiere did well on the subscription cable network. This time around, Starz isn’t even bothering to wait until close to release time to announce a renewal. If you’ve been excited about the Michael Bay-produced Black Sails series, you should be pleased to learn that the show will be returning for Season 2.
Unless you were lucky enough to be one of the chosen Comic-Con panel viewers who got to see the show’s pilot in its entirety, audiences haven’t gotten to see much footage from the big(ish) budget event. A lot of times pirates on the big and small screen are a little campy, but the trailer for Black Sails offers a serious plotline with serious characters, living their lives after being branded as pirates on the high seas.
The eight-episode series isn’t set to launch on the network until January of 2014. Created by Jonathan Steinberg and Robert Levine, the series is a loose prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure novel, Treasure Island. The series will follow a pirate captain named Flint (Toby Stephens) who is joined by a young man named John Silver (Luke Arnold) in his crew. The swashbuckling first round of the new program will follow a pirate crew attempting to save a pirate haven named New Providence Island.
Since the show hasn’t aired, yet, it does stand to reason why Starz is so keen to sign on for a second season already. The answer lies within the fans response to the show’s Comic-Con presence, which offered the premiere, but also a giant version of the show’s ship and other unique details that gave the program some strong buzz. Starz CEO Chris Albrecht explained to THR that Comic-Con really does matter and it’s a good idea to invest in your favorite shows during the big San Diego event.
"Michael Bay, Jon Steinberg and their teams delivered a spectacular first season of Black Sails and we are incredibly proud of everyone's work. Based on the strong fan response to the preview screening at last week's Comic-Con, we felt an early order for a second season would allow the writers, cast and crew enough time and space to continue crafting such unique and epic storytelling."
Starz needs an action-oriented adventure story in the schedule to replace the recently-finished Spartacus series, and hopefully Black Sails will be the right move for the network. Season 1 will hit the schedule in January of 2014.
