"Crossbones" premiers tonight on NBC
"Crossbones", the NBC drama inspired by my third book, The Republic of Pirates, premiers tonight in the U.S. at 10 pm Eastern.
For my family, it's the culmination of several years of waiting anxiously to see if the project would clear the next (usually taller) hurdle in the long, difficult path from idea to airing. We're thrilled to see the show -- which stars John Malkovich as (and older, madder) Blackbeard -- finally hitting the small screen.
It's actually a "what if" sequel to the historical events revealed in my book. Series creator Neil Cross has imagined what would happen to Blackbeard if he hadn't been the one whose head was brought back from Ocracoke Island in 1718 -- if instead, a decade or more later, he was out there somewhere, ensconced in a new base, presiding over another republic, one that looks very much like a cross between the pirate base at Nassau and the quiet criminal base the pirate set up in North Carolina in the final months of his life.
Readers of the book will see no shortage of borrowings and inspiration from the historical pirate's (earlier) experiences, although Cross (of BBC "Luther" fame) hasn't been very forthcoming about them in interviews. (C'mon, Neil, give us some love here!)
The New York Times weighed in on the show today. Let it be written on stone tablets: "[Crossbones is] sophisticated, well-acted television for a warm-weather series."
Enjoy the show!
