New Pirate Series Based On 143-Year-Old Book Is The Worst Thing To Happen To Pirates Since Scurvy

Published Oct 18, 2026, 3:30 PM EDT Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones. You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep." Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant. Pirates have been synonymous with adventure for decades, with movies like Pirates of the Caribbean combining adventure with the supernatural, Our Flag Means Death becoming the best pirate romcom of all time, if not the only one, and Black Sails bringing the grit and gore of Vikings to the high seas. With our love of great pirate TV shows showing no sign of coming to an end, it was only a matter of time before one of the best pirate stories of all time was adapted once more. Unfortunately, reviews have deemed it the scurvy of the screen. Treasure Island was published in 1883 and has regularly been adapted ever since, from faithful retellings to much wilder takes on the story, from Muppet Treasure Island to Disney's Treasure Planet. Now, 2026 sees Tom Sweet (East of Eden) taking on the role of Jim Hawkins in a six-part tale that has received an 11% positive critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a wealth of scathing reviews, leaving Ridley Scott's upcoming Treasure Island movie to potentially save the day in 2027. Why The 2026 Treasure Island TV Adaptation Doesn't Work Treasure Island is a swashbuckling adventure complete with treasure, villainy, and, of course, pirates. When the dying Billy Bones leaves behind a map to buried gold, the young innkeeper Jim Hawkins sets out to find the fortune, without realizing that the pirates are planning a mutiny, led by the fearsome Long John Silver. There is enough packed into the plot to make a high budget and faithful Treasure Island adaptation into a TV masterpiece on the same level as Game of Thrones, but 2026's version took the wrong elements away, adding some bizarre twists in their place. Jim now has a near-supernatural eidetic memory that feels unnecessary but ensures he is essential to finding the buried treasure. However, despite most Treasure Island adaptations setting Jim as the hero with Long John Silver as the secondary character, four characters fight for attention, resulting in nobody getting enough screentime, while other fan-favorites are absent. The miniseries drastically changes characters like the crass Billy Bones, making him a charming love interest for Jim's mother, Bess, and alters the pacing of the story, revealing Long John Silver's true intentions early and robbing the show of the chance for some real tension. Retelling a beloved story does not always mean instant failure when the adaptation stays true to the spirit of the source material, even if the details are changed, but fans of the original book would find 2026 Treasure Island straying too far from the classic pirate tale. Sarah Dempster of The Guardian called the series "a TV stinker," while other viewers felt that the tightly-written story had been stretched to accommodate unnecessary family drama and an inexplicable slow-motion battle. Even so, 2026's Treasure Island is not the only bad adaptation of the classic book. Is This The Worst Adaptation Of Treasure Island There's Been? Image via MovieStillsDB Pirates are known to have a certain disregard for the rules, so it may not be surprising that the worst and most bizarre-sounding adaptations of Treasure Island are actually some of the best. Muppet Treasure Island has an 80% positive critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, and while Disney's ill-fated but underrated sci-fi animation Treasure Planet received 68% and 73% from critics and audiences respectively, it is now regarded as a hidden gem. That said, for every great adaptation, there is an equally bad one. Treasure Island has been adapted for film and TV over 50 times. Older adaptations like the 1972 production featuring Orson Welles suffered from choppy editing and a painfully sluggish performance from Welles, who reportedly did not want to be there. While Black Sails is a fantastic prequel with a gritty tone, it kept the fun and adventure of the original story while 2012's attempt missed the mark completely, with its dark tone canceling out the vibrancy and action that is sorely needed in a Treasure Island adaptation. The low-budget mockbuster Pirates of Treasure Island was criticized for virtually everything from the costumes to the writing and acting, as well as its inclusion of a giant CGI monster. That said, while no critics' score is available on Rotten Tomatoes, its audience score is 18%, currently leaving 2026's Treasure Island as the worst of all time, despite moments of excellent acting from David Oyelowo, who steals the show as Long John Silver. Fortunately, with pirates remaining so popular, it is certain Treasure Island will be adapted again, and in the meantime, there are great shows like Black Sails. Source: The Guardian Treasure Island Release Date October 11, 2026 Network MGM+ Cast David Oyelowo Long John Silver