Treasure Island prequel series Black Sails will return in 2017 with its fourth – and final – season, Starz has confirmed.
Set to cap off its stint on the small-screen with a 10-episode run, the Starz original series enjoyed an overly successful voyage, averaging close to 3.6 million multiplatform viewers per episode across its three seasons. Statistics aside, Black Sails also pulled in multiple Emmy awards, going on to nab gongs for Outstanding Special and Visual Effects in 2014.
Series co-creator and executive producer Jonathan E. Steinberg reflected on the show’s fruitful journey in an official statement relayed by Deadline, revealing that:
“It’s a rare privilege in television to be given the kind of creative freedom we’ve enjoyed on this show over the last four years. While it was a difficult decision for us to make this season our last, we simply couldn’t imagine anything beyond it that would make for a better ending to the story nor a more natural handoff to Treasure Island. We’d like to thank Chris, Carmi and everyone at Starz for all their faith and support, and to our astounding cast and crew for joining us on this ride.”
Toby Stephens headlines the swashbuckling drama as Captain Flint, a pirate that strikes fear in anyone with a heartbeat. Set some 20 years before the events of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Steinberg hatched the series alongside Robert Levine.
Starz’s Black Sails will dock for a final time when season 4 airs at some point in 2017.