Starz Chief Executive Officer Chris Albrecht today announced the straight-to-series greenlight of "Black Sails" (working title) from executive producer Michael Bay. The new Starz Original series is expected to air in 2014. The eight-episode first season of the pirate adventure centers on the tales of Captain Flint and his men, and takes place twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Treasure Island." 

"Starz is excited to be working with a visionary like Michael,'" said Albrecht. "Along with the high-octane action that is a hallmark of a Michael Bay production, it has the elements that Starz originals are striving to bring to the premium landscape: epic, larger than life, cinematic storytelling. The series is also a property we believe will appeal to the global content marketplace with broadcasters around the world."

"I'm excited to branch out into television," says Michael Bay, the record-breaking director/producer of such big screen hits as Transformers and Bad Boys, "especially doing a long-form series for Starz, a network known for supporting cutting edge programming."

Following the model of the Spartacus franchise and Magic City, Starz will retain all domestic and international rights to the dramatic series, including television, home video, and digital.

"Black Sails" will be executive produced by Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. The series is created by showrunner and executive producer Jon Steinberg (creator Jericho, Human Target) and co-executive producer Robert Levine (Touch).

The production is set to shoot at Cape Town Studios in Cape Town, South Africa later this year.