With his long running, extremely successful and presumably lucrative time as Gregory House now behind him, you might expect Hugh Laurie to throw himself into non-telly work after years of long filming days and having to make sure that American accent stays in place. But it sounds like he’s not quite done with the US goggle box just yet,as he’s in negotiations to star as Blackbeard for NBC’s new drama Crossbones.
With Luther creator Neil Cross overseeing the writing staff, Crossbones is set in 1715 in the Bahamas. Edward Teach (Aka Blackbeard) is the fearsome English pirate who rules over island town New Providence, a wretched hive of scum and villainy. The grouping of thieves, rogues and miscreant sailors is a growing threat to legitimate international commerce on the high seas. But it’s also the Americas’ first functioning democracy.
Since he’ll be able to hang on to his native tongue (with perhaps a few “Arrs” thrown in for good measure) and the drama is initially planned as a short 10-episode run, it’ll be less of a strain on Laurie’s time, which should make him more likely to sign on.
And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to see Hugh Laurie decked out as a pirate, snarling, “every swab lies, matey!”?