Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
Length: Ten episodes, roughly 30-minutes each
Synopsis: A clownish band of pirates, led by a rich dandy, get more than they bargained for when their underwhelming adventures are interrupted by the fearsome Blackbeard
Recommendation rating: 4/5
What I like about it: Taika Waititi, fun writing, good drama in the latter half, lovely romance and Taika Waititi (seriously if he doesn’t get an Emmy it’s a robbery)
What I don’t like about it: the first few episodes are very underwhelming, the mix of history and pure fiction can be hard to understand and delineate
Review:
This show has a secret! It begins as a middle-of-the-road comedy and feels, for the first couple of episodes, like a failed attempt to make “What We Do in the Shadows but with pirates” but that hides its true nature. The show “grows the beard” in episode four when Taika Waititi’s Blackbeard is introduced. His name has been enough to get me interested in a project since Boy, but his acting ability has been criminally underutilised since then and he brings this project to another level – giving me chills at least once an episode towards the end. Rhys Darby brings his unique charm to the role of “The Gentleman Pirate” Stede Bonnet and the rest of the cast glue as an ensemble as it goes on, Ewen Bremner being a particularly memorable highlight. Check this one out if you have enough time to sit through a few not-so-great episodes.
Content notes (may contain spoilers): Comical, but occasionally vivid, violence and injuries; relationship problems; mental health (BPD, DID)