Pirate-Hunting TV Show: Genius or Totally Shameless?

This pirate-hunting business is heating up. Emphasis on the word “business,” too. After a few decades of quiet operations attempting to crack down on piracy, more and more companies seem to be cashing in on the crisis. In a recent feature, we reported that Blackwater Worldwide (excuse us, “Xe”) would be getting in on the pirate-nabbing game, sending warships to the waters near Somalia—a hotbed of pirate conflict that came to a head just the other day. We ran a feature about this recently, and at the time, it seemed Blackwater’s move was perhaps a little on the shrewd side. But in a world where nothing matters until it gets its own TV show, the inevitable next step would come: Spike TV yesterday announced it would be piloting a series called—what else?—Pirate Hunters: USN!

It has a Law & Order SVU-ish ring to it, doesn’t it? While it’s tempting to write it off as a ratings-boosting scheme, you can’t deny it has an unparalelled appeal. There are few international stories right now that capture our attention like pirates, and military operations have always been titillating stuff. Plus, there are built-in villains and heroes, and innocent victimes who need to be protected. It’s got it all.

Spike will have cameras onboard two Navy ships, bringing the idea of a journalist embed to new highs (and possibly lows). I’ll obviously be tuning in. Will you?