Pirate Master is an American reality television show created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on CBS. The show followed sixteen modern-day pirates on their quest for a gold treasure valued at US$1,000,000. The show was hosted by Cameron Daddo and was filmed around and on the Caribbean island nation of Dominica.
Pirate Master premiered Thursday, May 31, 2007. The show also aired on CTV in Canada and Sky3 in the UK, and premiered on June 21, 2007, on Network Ten in Australia, and on July 4, 2007, on AXN Asia. Beginning July 10 in the US, the show moved to Tuesdays at 10 PM ET, following broadcasts of . Due to low ratings, CBS cancelled Pirate Master on July 24, 2007 after airing only eight of its 14 episodes. Following this, the series was posted on CBS Innertube, with the last six episodes debuting each week on Tuesday mornings.
Premise
Pirate Master is centered around a fictional story of the pirate captain Henry Steel and the Treasure of Zanzibar. After acquiring the treasure, Steel divided the loot into 14 parts and hid them across the island of Dominica. A special chest, the Chest of Zanzibar, contains fifteen locked compartments, each containing maps and clues to help find one of the stashes. Fourteen of the keys — all but the key for the first compartment — are each hidden with one of the hidden treasures; thus, the treasures must be found, and the compartments opened, in a predetermined order. The final compartment contains a map showing the location of every gold stash on the island of Dominica, leading to the grand prize.
Expeditions
Each week, the contestants are divided into two crews, Black and Red, to hunt for the treasures indicated by the maps and clues obtained from the most recently opened compartment in the Chest of Zanzibar. If the captain and officer positions are occupied (see below), they are automatically assigned to the black crew, while all remaining players draw colored gunshots out of bags to determine their crew. The black crew gains the extra player when an odd number of contestants are available.
Both crews simultaneously go on expeditions and decipher clues along the way to find gold coins hidden around the island of Dominica. During the expedition, there is the potential for the currently leading crew (based on the trailing member of the team) to "sabotage" the other crew, slowing them down, such as by causing a net to fall to block passage along a river. There also may be booby traps that can slow down the leading team. The first crew to successfully retrieve the treasure — even if the other crew arrived and started searching first — wins the treasure, and indicates their victory by firing a blunderbuss.
Captain and Officers
Following the first expedition, the winning crew must elect one of their own to be the ship's captain. The captain must then select two crew-mates to be officers. The captain receives the right to claim half of the treasure for themself, in additional to other luxuries, but must also nominate three contestants for elimination. The officers each receive a smaller share of the treasure, and claim lesser luxuries.
After being elected, the captain leads the black crew on the next expedition. If the black crew wins, the captain retains their position automatically and may opt to keep or change their officers as desired. If the red crew wins, the captain and officers are all demoted; the crew-mates on the winning team then elect from among themselves a new captain, who chooses two new officers. When eight contestants remain, the officer position is eliminated entirely.
Treasure
Most of the treasure found at the end of each expedition comes in the form of gold coins, which can be divided among the winning crew. After the coins are counted and the total value (which varies) is established, the captain claims 50%, the officers share 25%, and the rest of the winning crew members share the remaining 25% of the gold; when necessary, distributions are rounded to the nearest $100. The coins are distributed to the crew members immediately, and may be used as in-game currency, allowing the contestants to strike deals with each other and vie for long-term security. This money cannot be stolen by other players. Of the total $1 million prize, $500,000 was distributed through the show in this manner.