Despite its disastrous final season, if you were ever a fan of Game of Thrones, you probably still admire it for its epic storytelling, political intrigue, sweeping set pieces, and impact on the cultural zeitgeist. Even so, over time, more people are taking issue with elements of the show that were always there.

Game of Thrones changed the landscape of television, giving rise to larger TV productions and projects that attempted to emulate the fantasy or gritty and mature elements of HBO’s landmark show. Yet one instance entirely predates these post-Game of Thrones trends, outshines the saga in several ways, and flew largely under the radar.

Black Sails Is A Hugely Underrated Historical Drama From The Game Of Thrones Era

In 2014, when Game of Thrones was at its height, Starz premiered both Outlander and Black Sails. The former got more attention and will conclude in 2026, while the latter was finished by 2017. Black Sails’ main premise is that it follows Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his crew before the events of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

However, with the incorporation of historical pirates and original characters, revolving around the conflict between the pirates of New Providence Island and the British Empire, Black Sails becomes a powerful story in its own right. The series’ consistent themes, explored with stunning nuance and precision, include imperialism, oppression, shifting power, the barbarity of civilization, and how one wields storytelling.

The pirates’ preparation for this oncoming battle is disrupted repeatedly by disputes between captains. They all need to turn a profit to keep their crews happy, going through trade boss Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New). But while Eleanor puts her faith in Flint’s vision for Nassau, his ideological rival in Charles Vane (Zach McGowan), one of Black Sails’ real-life pirates, believes in fighting the British more directly.

Also critical is the origin story of iconic literary villain Long John Silver (Luke Arnold), who is clever and ruthless enough to become a force of nature equal to Flint. Where both Game of Thrones and Outlander have had to carry on past the end of their source material, Black Sails always had an endpoint in sight, and thus tells a tight, complete story.

Black Sails’ sense of direction allows it to avoid becoming convoluted the way Outlander has, as its time travel mechanics become riddled with plot holes. And where Game of Thrones ruined itself with rushed, nonsensical character arcs in the final season, Black Sails boasts rich, justified character development at every turn.

Why Black Sails Never Saw The Same Popularity As Game Of Thrones Or Outlander

Fans have discussed at length on Reddit why Black Sails never really took off. Game of Thrones was obviously the biggest thing in the world in the mid-2010s, but Outlander also quickly amassed an audience. Both TV shows benefited from the built-in fanbase of being based on popular modern book series. Black Sails lacked this, while also being aired on the less prominent network of Starz.

While one of the things that makes Black Sails better is arguably its lack of fantasy elements, preventing messy storytelling in the later seasons, in the beginning, the promise of time travel and dragons may have been more widely appealing. Black Sails, in contrast, focuses on the more particular niche of the Golden Age of Piracy and gritty, realistic conflicts.

Additionally, Black Sails’ first season is clearly the weakest, turning people away from it early on. With the Game of Thrones era now a bygone one, more people have discovered Black Sails and will passionately argue that it is the better show, especially since it became available on Netflix in 2024. If, somehow, this isn’t you, many would enthusiastically recommend that you start watching now.

All episodes of Black Sails are available to stream on Netflix.

Release Date

2014 – 2017

Showrunner

Jonathan E. Steinberg

Directors

Alik Sakharov, Steve Boyum, Lukas Ettlin, Stefan Schwartz, Clark Johnson, Marc Munden, Neil Marshall, Sam Miller, T.J. Scott, Michael Nankin, Rob Bailey, Roel Reiné, Uta Briesewitz

Writers

Dan Shotz, Lisa Schultz Boyd, Heather Bellson, Doris Egan, Michael Angeli, Michael S. Chernuchin, Peter Ocko, Josh Rothenberger

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  Toby Stephens

  Captain James Flint

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