12 Swashbuckling Shows to Fill Your ‘One Piece’ Void
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THERE'S NOTHING QUITE like a good adventure. The experience of getting swept up in an epic journey—whether it takes place in our world, or one very, very different—is what got so many of us invested in this kind of storytelling in the first place. Who can forget seeing the The Lion King, Star Wars, or Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time? Personally, I have a soft spot for the Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz-starring Mummy films of the late '90s and early 2000s; It's all about an adventure that pulls you right in from the very jump. We feel like we're along for the ride with a group of characters that (if the actors and filmmakers are doing their jobs right) we immediately start to love.
And so adventure shows (and movies, and books, and whatever else) often tend to be a great time. It's escapism at its very finest; nothing wraps viewers up like an ambitious story.
Netflix's One Piece, a swashbuckling pirate adventure based on the long-running anime and manga and set in a heightened, colorful world, is the latest major adventure series to catch the attention of streaming audiences everywhere. If you've already quickly burned through the eight Season 1 episodes of the adaptation, don't go looking to take to the seas yourself; we've got plenty more swashbuckling adventures for you to embark upon.
Below, we dive into 13 different adventures that One Piece viewers should be happy to embark upon, whether it's their maiden voyage or a victory lap.
Black Sails (2014 - 2017)
This Michael Bay-produced pirate series ran for four seasons of swashbuckling adventure and was actually written as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island book. As a piece of historical fiction, the show found fictional characters crossing paths with real-life pirates (like Blackbeard, played here by Ray Stevenson). Much in the way that Deadwood featured real figures of the old West (like Wild Bill Hickok), Black Sails features plenty of prominent pirates, including lead character Captain Flint.
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Our Flag Means Death (2022 - )
Another pirate show! Albeit this one is quite different from Black Sails, particularly in that its an adventure-comedy that leans heavy on the comedy (and with some romance for good measure). Our Flag Means Death tells the story of an aristocrat Stede Bonnet who decides to abandon his wealthy life and take to the sea, hiring a crew and taking on the moniker of "The Gentleman Pirate." He eventually runs into Blackbeard (played here by Taika Waititi), and the series takes on some of the most unique sitcom beats of the last several years (and all of the writing and performances are great). Season 2 is coming soon,
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Cowboy Bebop (2021)
Back in 2021, Netflix tried to adapt another anime into live-action: Cowboy Bebop. And while this space Western was cancelled after only a single season, I tend to think it got a bit of a raw deal. This show was a fun genre mash-up with an episodic structure and lots of solid action. Plus, it gave John Cho a strong leading role vehicle (something we've gotten some of, but not nearly enough). Give it a shot if you're into space, cowboys, or both.
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Treasure Island (2012)
This fairly new telling of the classic swashbuckling story (of tracking down, you guessed it, treasure) has a stacked cast that includes Donald Sutherland, Eddie Izzard, and Elijah Wood. If you've never read the book or seen an adaptation and want a taste, this is a pretty solid entry point.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022 - )
In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Prime Video created (the start of) one of the most ambitious television shows of all time; based on previously unadapted work from Tolkien's time writing the LOTR books, Rings of Power has only had a single season so far, but is expected to eventually reach a production cost of around $1 billion. Kind of needs to be good for that to be worth it, right? Luckily, the first season was pretty widely enjoyed, and things should only get better as Prime Video continues to tell this epic tale (based on epic IP).
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Da Vinci's Demons (2013 - 2015)
This wild adventure show (from Blade, The Dark Knight, and Foundation writer David S. Goyer) is a bombastic piece of historical fiction where Leonardo da Vinci gets involved in wild conspiracies, fantasy scenarios, and much more, usually involving his inventions or work.
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Crossbones (2014)
Crossbones only lasted for one season (it aired on NBC back in 2014), but it's got John Malkovich as Blackbeard, reigning over a secret island of chaos and anarchy. That's got to be worth a shot, right?
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The Mandalorian (2019 - )
Whether you're a Star Wars lifer or haven't seen a damn thing, you can probably have a good time with The Mandalorian. This series is modeled off TV westerns of the old days, and so it employs a serialized, episodic format, albeit always with a somewhat running storyline by season as well. Pedro Pascal plays the titular character, but, as you probably are well aware, the real star of the show is the one and only Grogu, informally known as BABY YODA. He is the cutest little puppet you'll ever see.
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Shadow and Bone (2021 -)
This series, based on Leigh Bardugo's novels, is another expansive, ambitious adventure that you can find on Netflix. While there's not particularly the pirate angle of One Piece, there's plenty of high-stakes adventuring and even some ambitious thieves who are always scheming for their next big score.
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Firefly (2002)
Firefly is basically pirates in space. Yeah, we know that sounds cool. And luckily, it really is. Firefly is one of the all-time "brilliant but cancelled" shows, and while it's an awesome, great time of a space adventure (led by Captain Mal, played by Nathan Fillion), it unfortunately lasted only one season. At least it got to wrap things up with a proper movie conclusion in 2005's Serenity. You should watch that too.
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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
OK, not a movie. But give us a break—Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is the best piece of pirate media of the last 30 years or so. When you talk about epic adventure, this is what you've got to think of, because it's got a little bit of something for everyone—and characters that you'll become obsessed with instantly. We won't vouch for the later films in the franchise, but The Curse of the Black Pearl is a top-tier watch.
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One Piece (1999 - )
If you watched One Piece on Netflix but haven't checked out the anime, then, well, there's only one thing left to do: press play. Never mind that the show has been running and there are currently 1,075 episodes (and counting)—if you want more One Piece, this is the first place you should go. And if you somehow watch all of this, there's always the Manga after that.
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