You have a better Friday night date than John Malkovich as the dreaded Blackbeard? Yeah, didn’t think so.
Hold onto your cutlass and eye patch pirate lovers! NBC just released a new series called Crossbones for those who love danger, intrigue and mutiny on the high seas. Based on the book The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard, this show is a refreshing change from ordinary summer programming.
This swashbuckling new series features none other than John Malkovich (Red) and Richard Coyle (Covert Affairs). Malkovich plays Edward Teach, better known as the notorious pirate Blackbeard. He has set out to steal and use a new invention, the longitude chronometer, for his own evil plans. Malkovich plays a more intelligent, cunning, and ruthless Blackbeard than I have ever seen portrayed. Which, by the way, don’t call him Blackbeard to his face: apparently it’s insulting.
Coyle is Tom Lowe who is masquerading as a ship’s surgeon when he is captured by Blackbeard’s band of marauders and taken to Santa Compana. His mission is twofold: assassinate Blackbeard, and protect the chronometer from falling into pirate hands. However, his plans drastically change when he finds that there is a plot on the island that threatens England. He must decide what is more important: protecting the chronometer or protecting England.
NBC has promised ten episodes of Crossbones this summer. I expect that we’ll soon find out who the lady in white is, and how Santa Compana is able to operate with pirates as their main occupants. If the series follows the book, we should also expect to meet legendary pirate “Black Sam” Bellamy, who joins forces with Blackbeard to establish the settlement at Santa Compana. With so much of the season left, we have so much more to look forward to.