Treasure Island gives Robert Louis Stevenson’s pirate adventure a sizeable rethink, and the results are most compelling when David Oyelowo is on deck. This six-part adaptation, created by Robert Murphy, premieres on MGM+ in the US on 11 October and arrives on Paramount+ in the UK on 12 October.
When young Jim Hawkins (Tom Sweet) and his mother, Bess (Hayley Atwell), come into possession of a treasure map, they set sail aboard the Hispaniola. The voyage quickly becomes a contest of nerve and shifting loyalties, with the charismatic Long John Silver (Oyelowo) complicating Jim’s idea of who can be trusted. Bess, substantially expanded from Stevenson’s book, is no passenger in her own story: she is resourceful, watchful and ready to bargain for her family’s future.
David Oyelowo commands the voyage
Oyelowo makes Silver the series’ magnetic centre. His physical presence gives the pirate an immediate threat, but the performance is more than menace: a look or a pause can suggest charm, calculation and a flicker of decency all at once. Silver feels dangerous because he’s difficult to read, and Oyelowo keeps that uncertainty alive.
Atwell brings a different kind of force. Her Bess is canny and practical, navigating a world where status and gender constrain her choices. The expanded role gives the adventure a welcome perspective on class and power, while Atwell’s sharp, measured performance makes Bess a lively counterpart to Silver. Sweet gives Jim the necessary openness of a boy facing a world far less simple than the one he left behind.
A handsome adventure with a loose middle
The Hispaniola has convincing grit: the cramped shipboard life and weathered surroundings give the show texture, rather than making its adventure feel like a polished studio exercise. There’s a satisfyingly old-fashioned Sunday-night-drama rhythm to the journey, with danger, intrigue and character rivalries at its heart.
The adaptation’s biggest gamble is its distance from the novel. Some of the changes add welcome dimension, particularly Bess’s prominence, but the broader departures may divide viewers attached to Stevenson’s familiar tale. The pacing also wavers: after a strong start, the back half becomes baggier, and one strand of the story feels less developed than it deserves.
Those frustrations stop the series from being a wholly satisfying voyage, but they don’t sink its best work. Treasure Island is worth boarding for Oyelowo’s commanding Silver, Atwell’s resourceful Bess and its richly rendered seafaring world. Its route may wander, but its leading performances give the adventure real life.
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