Pirates Update: TV Scores First
All the pirate activity off the Somali coast has caught the attention of Spike TV. According to Variety, the network is looking for plunder in the world of piracy — the swashbuckling, ship-commandeering kind that made international headlines with Sunday’s rescue of American sea captain Richard Phillips from his Somali captors. The Viacom-owned cabler has greenlit a pilot for “Pirate Hunters: USN,” a docu series from 44 Blue Prods. (“The True Story of Black Hawk Down”) that will focus on the U.S. Navy’s antipiracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. That’s the same region where Phillips was freed after a firefight between his captors and Navy snipers, ending a five-day hostage standoff.
