House alum Hugh Laurie is in talks with NBC to star in Crossbones, a pirate drama from Luther creator Neil Cross, Deadline reports.

The six-time Emmy nominee would play Edward Teach, the notorious English pirate better known as Blackbeard. The 10-episode series is set in 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence, where Blackbeard reigns over a rogue nation of thieves and outlaws. Cross wrote Crossbones and will executive produce alongside film producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald.

The series is one of at least three pirate-themed television projects in development: FX has ordered Port Royal, from Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead, The Terminator) and Graham King (Hugo, Word War Z), while Starz is set to begin production on Black Sails, from executive producer Michael Bay, by the end of the year.