New Shows: Pirates, Slackers, Burgers, and More

January has been pretty busy with new shows.  I think the September start to new series is finally dead and television is now much more like the movies; shows will appear when they are ready and spaced out to get maximum viewership.  And just as the Oscars appears to lead to the crowding of movies at year end, we will still see some bunching of new series, but we are still in a whole new world.

The big premiere this week is Starz's Black Sails starting this Saturday (January 25th).  Produced by Michael Bay from Transformers fame, the trailer shows plenty of action is in store rather than the comedy of Pirates of the Caribbean.  Here is the basic story:

1715. The Golden Age of Piracy. New Providence Island is a lawless territory, controlled by history’s most notorious pirate captains. The most feared is Captain Flint.  

As the British Navy returns to redeem their land and exterminate Flint and his crew, another side of him emerges. Captain Flint aligns himself with Eleanor Guthrie, daughter of the local kingpin, to hunt the ultimate prize and ensure their survival.

Many opponents stand in their way: rival captains, jealous of Flint's power; Eleanor's ambitious and intrusive father; and a young sailor recently recruited onto Flint's crew, John Silver, who constantly undermines his captain’s agenda.

Toby Stephens plays the lead as Captain Flint.  For some reason he reminds me of Iain Glen, who plays Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones.  I am hopeful that Starz can pull this one off since we have few pirates on TV these days with all the cops and vampires crowding the tube.  I am ready for a change.  Episode one is already available on the Starz website and YouTube, so take a peak. 

Other shows premiering this week include:

-- Broad City (Comedy Central, January 22): This comedy is about two twenty-something girls getting into trouble in NYC.  The New York Times calls it "...funny, and, like so many other shows on that channel, brazen about skewering the millennial generation as hapless 20-somethings with no ambition, talent or self-respect."  The series is produced by Amy Poehler, which may be enough for me to try the first few episodes.  The first episode is already available online.

-- Wahlburgers (A&E, January 22):  This is a reality show about the trials and tribulations of opening a burger joint.  I think the Wahlberg's reality show on Boston cops (TNT's Boston's Finest) was a better idea.  Maybe opening a donut shop would have been better with some overlapping episodes.

-- Rake (Fox, January 23):  Yes, another lawyer show with a twist.  In this case, this criminal defense lawyer also has gambling issues.  Do we need more of these shows?  How about combining pirates and lawyers in one reality show?  That would work for me (though some may find this redundant).