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Black Sails poster

Shows that feel likeBlack Sails (2014–2017)

The pirate adventures of Captain Flint and his men twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island.” Flint, the most brilliant and most feared pirate captain of his day, takes on a fast-talking young addition to his crew who goes by the name John Silver. Threatened with extinction on all sides, they fight for the survival of New Providence Island, the most notorious criminal haven of its day – a debauched paradise teeming with pirates, prostitutes, thieves and fortune seekers, a place defined by both its enlightened ideals and its stunning brutality.

If you loved Black Sails, the closest series we have are Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018), The Magnificent Century (2011) and Station 19 (2018). All three share Black Sails' contemplative and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Alchemy of Souls (2022).

★ 8.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗4 seasons · STARZcreated by Robert Levinecontemplativekineticepic
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video
Stream it:Starz ↗

If Black Sails hit the spot, these will too

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan poster
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
2018–2023 · 4 seasons · Prime Video
★ 8action & adventure · dramaPrime Video

Globe-spanning stakes driven by one strategist thinking ahead of everyone

The difference: Modern espionage gloss — clean heroics, none of Flint's moral rot

When CIA analyst Jack Ryan stumbles upon a suspicious series of bank transfers his search for answers pulls him from the safety of his desk job and catapults him into a deadly game of cat and mouse throughout Europe and the Middle East, with a rising terrorist figurehead preparing for a massive attack against the US and her allies.

The Magnificent Century poster
The Magnificent Century
2011–2014 · 4 seasons · Show TV
★ 7.1drama · action & adventure

Empire-building through court intrigue, alliances, and betrayal

The difference: Palace melodrama pace — the battles mostly happen offscreen

At the age of 26, when his reign began, Sultan Süleyman sought to build an empire more powerful than Alexander the Great and to render the Ottomans invincible. Throughout his 46-year reign, his fame as the greatest warrior and ruler of his age spreads both to the East and West. With his companion Pargalı İbrahim, Süleyman achieves great victories, and makes his name known in the Muslim World. Süleyman called İbrahim his brother, friend and advisor. The television series shows Süleyman's consolidation of his power: Pargalı İbrahim being grand minister of state, reinforcing the rule of law throughout the empire, meeting foreign diplomats, and preparing for military campaigns, all set against the backdrop of the tension between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire.

Station 19 poster
Station 19
2018–2024 · 7 seasons · ABC
★ 7.1drama · action & adventureHulu

A tight crew risking everything together, on the job and off it

The difference: Network ensemble soap — danger of the week, not a long war

A group of heroic firefighters at Seattle Fire Station 19—from captain to newest recruit—risk their lives and hearts both in the line of duty and off the clock. These brave men and women are like family, literally and figuratively, and together they put their own lives in jeopardy as first responders to save the lives of others.

Rome poster
Rome
2005–2007 · 2 seasons · HBO
★ 8.7action & adventure · dramaMax

History's margins made flesh — ambition, blood, and shifting loyalties

The difference: Cut short at two seasons, just as its schemes gather real weight

A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.

ONE PIECE poster
ONE PIECE
2023– · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.3action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Pirate crews chasing legendary treasure across open water

The difference: Sunny found-family adventure — nobody's soul is on the line

With his straw hat and ragtag crew, young pirate Monkey D. Luffy goes on an epic voyage for treasure.

The Last Kingdom poster
The Last Kingdom
2015–2022 · 5 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.5action & adventure · drama · war & politicsNetflix

A ruthless age where survival means picking sides and betraying them

The difference: One warrior's destiny drives it more than ensemble scheming

A show of heroic deeds and epic battles with a thematic depth that embraces politics, religion, warfare, courage, love, loyalty and our universal search for identity. Combining real historical figures and events with fictional characters, it is the story of how a people combined their strength under one of the most iconic kings of history in order to reclaim their land for themselves and build a place they call home.

MacGyver poster
MacGyver
2016–2021 · 5 seasons · CBS
★ 5.5drama · action & adventureParamount+

Quick thinking beats firepower when every plan falls apart

The difference: Breezy network reboot — no darkness, no consequences that stick

20-something Angus MacGyver creates a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening.

Rosario Tijeras poster
Rosario Tijeras
2010 · 1 season · RCN
★ 8action & adventure · crime · drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then momentum

The difference: Leans harder into crime than Black Sails does

This is the story of the legendary Rosario Tijeras, the beautiful warrior from a slum who fell in love with Antonio and Emilio, two handsome and wealthy young men. Antonio, a young architect, desperately rushes the dying Rosario Tijeras to a nearby hospital. The beautiful Rosario has been shot four times by a hitman. While he waits for his beloved Rosario to be saved from her wounds, Antonio recalls how Rosario, a beautiful teenager, became the murderer Rosario Tijeras. And how he, a dashing young man, makes her his obsession. The woman of his dreams.

Continuum poster
Continuum
2012–2015 · 4 seasons · Showcase
★ 7.6sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaPrime VideoPeacock

Drama with a pulse of scale, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to sci-fi & fantasy than Black Sails does

The series centers on the conflict between a group of rebels from the year 2077 who time-travel to Vancouver, BC, in 2012, and a police officer who accidentally accompanies them. In spite of being many years early, the rebel group decides to continue its violent campaign to stop corporations of the future from replacing governments, while the police officer endeavours to stop them without revealing to anyone that she and the rebels are from the future.

Timeless poster
Timeless
2016–2018 · 2 seasons · NBC
★ 7.6drama · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

Contemplative action & adventure, and it commits to that

A mysterious criminal steals a secret state-of-the-art time machine, intent on destroying America as we know it by changing the past. Our only hope is an unexpected team: a scientist, a soldier and a history professor, who must use the machine's prototype to travel back in time to critical events. While they must make every effort not to affect the past themselves, they must also stay one step ahead of this dangerous fugitive. But can this handpicked team uncover the mystery behind it all and end his destruction before it's too late?

Alchemy of Souls poster
Alchemy of Souls
2022–2023 · 2 seasons · tvN
★ 8.7drama · sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventureNetflix

Sweeping serialized fantasy where power always carries a price

The difference: Korean romance-fantasy — the longing matters more than the war

She was named Naksu because wherever she went, a trail of heads followed. She performs the alchemy of souls, magic that can change people's bodies and souls, which is forbidden in Daeho, and ends up being chased. Naksu hurriedly abandons her body and attempts the alchemy of souls on a woman passing by. Jang Wook, the son of the King of Daeho, realizes that Mudeok's soul has been changed and helps her. Jang Wook wants to learn Naksu's martial arts and become a sorcerer, and Naksu, in the body of Mudeok, stays by his side so she can recover her strength.

Outer Banks poster
Outer Banks
2020–2026 · 5 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.5action & adventure · mysteryNetflix

Both lean on momentum more than on action & adventure

The difference: Trades the stillness of Black Sails for an angle of its own

On a North Carolina island of haves and have-nots, John B and his tight-knit crew of friends find mystery and adventure while hunting for lost treasure.

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The best-reviewed series that share Black Sails’ defining feeling.