Image Credit: Starz
It’s time to weigh anchor and prepare for departure. All four seasons of the hit Starz pirate drama Black Sails are currently scheduled to leave Netflix in the United States on April 17, 2026, marking a surprisingly short-term stay for the series.
As we’ve previously reported, Netflix has been aggressively licensing third-party content for the past few years to bolster its library. When Black Sails came back on April 17th it was one of the crown jewels of that strategy. However, it appears that the “Golden Age of Piracy” on Netflix was more of a fleeting sunset than a long-term sojourn.
As we first revealed when covering the upcoming evictions in April 2026, we’re expecting the series to end entirely. The removal date is expected to appear on the title’s landing page starting March 17, which will be about a month before it is scheduled to depart. This confirms that the series will have spent only two years on the platform before its departure. As we first reported, the series was licensed in early 2024, but its release date on Netflix got delayed for unknown reasons, and it ultimately ended up being April 17, 2024.
Only the United States picked up the show, and after its inclusion, it spent 9 days in the top 10 there. Netflix engagement reports certainly suggest it’s a natural time for the series to be removed from the service, given that viewership has declined since its addition.
Here are the viewership numbers for 2024 and 2025 black sailDivided according to season:
season 1
- 2024: 28.9 million hours (3.8 million views)
- 2025: 6.9M hours (900k Views)
season 2
- 2024: 20.0 million hours (2.2 million views)
- 2025: 5.2 million hours (600k views)
season 3
- 2024: 16.3 million hours (1.8 million views)
- 2025: 4.3M hours (500k Views)
season 4
- 2024: 15.6 million hours (1.6 million views)
- 2025: 4.1 million hours (400k views)
What is Black Sails about?
For those who haven’t yet ventured in, Black Sails serves as a serious, high-stakes prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Treasure Island.[1] Set approximately 20 years before the events of the book, it follows the feared Captain Flint (played by Toby Stephens) as he fights for the survival of the island of New Providence – a literal pirate’s paradise – against the encroaching British Empire.
The series has been widely praised for its incredible production design, Bear McCreary’s iconic score, and a cast that includes future stars such as Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy), Luke Arnold, and Jessica Parker Kennedy. It has often been compared to Game of Thrones for its political intrigue, only replaced with ships and sea shanties.
Why black sail Leaving Netflix so soon?
Licensing, as always, is a fickle beast. When Netflix acquires shows from companies like Lionsgate (which owns Starz), they are essentially “renting” the content for a certain window. While many licensing deals typically last two to five years, we have seen an increasing number of “short-term” windows – often just 12 to 18 months – particularly for high-profile library titles. Heck, some of Warner Bros.’ recent television pickups have been shorter than 6 months.
We saw a similar “one-and-done” situation with several HBO titles that came to Netflix last year, and it seems black sail Comes in the same category. Unless there is a last-minute renewal (which does happen, albeit rarely), the series will return exclusively to its home at Starz.
Where can you see Black Sails next?
Once the clock strikes midnight on April 17, your best option to watch the series will be the Starz app or the Starz add-on channels on Hulu or Prime Video.
If you’re in the middle right now, you have a little over a month to finish all 38 episodes. It’s a tight window, but for such a good show, it’s worth a “speed-watch.”
Will you finish your black sales binge before April ends? Let us know in the comments below!