NBC Greenlights Pirate Drama From ‘Luther’ Creator

NEW YORK — Thrown into a mix of stars, trailers and network hype at Monday’s upfront presentation was NBC’s announcement that it’s adding the drama Crossbones to its schedule.

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Luther creator Neil Cross will adapt Colin Woodard‘s book The Republic of Pirates, which is set during the golden age of piracy in the 1700s and centers on legendary pirate Blackbeard.

Husband and wife duo Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald (The Kite Runner) will produce the drama, which hails from indie studio Georgeville Television and Motion Picture Capital. NBC has ordered 10 episodes.

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Crossbones becomes the network’s second straight-to-series order, following Bryan Fuller‘s Silence of the Lambs prequel, Hannibal, and NBC’s fifth drama ordered to series this month.

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