# Sandokan (2025)

> A Malaysian pirate and his crew wage war on British forces from their island stronghold while he falls in love with an English-Italian aristocrat.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/178882

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 50 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: adventure, action, drama, history
- Created by: Davide Lantieri, Scott Rosenbaum, Alessandro Sermoneta
- Network: Telecinco, Rai 1, Mediaset Infinity
- Cast: Can Yaman, Alanah Bloor, Alessandro Preziosi, Ed Westwick, Madeleine Price, Owen Teale, John Hannah, Lucy Gaskell
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13924304/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: rousing, romantic, defiant, adventurous, sincere

## What critics say

Audiences rate this 2025 revival of the Sandokan pirate tale positively, prizing its lavish sets, exotic locations and swashbuckling spectacle, though some reviewers find its social-justice framing heavy-handed.

## Synopsis

Sandokan (2025) is an Italian and European co-produced historical adventure series created by Davide Lantieri, Scott Rosenbaum and Alessandro Sermoneta, produced by Lux Vide and Rai Fiction and aired on Rai 1 and Telecinco. Can Yaman plays the title pirate, a Malaysian sea raider who operates from his island stronghold of Mompracem, alongside his loyal friend Yanez de Gomera, played by Alessandro Preziosi. Their crew attacks British forces across the Indian Ocean, and the engine of the story is the constant pressure of colonial warships, rival powers and personal loyalties. Sandokan's romance with Lady Marianne Guillonk, played by Alanah Bloor, an English-Italian aristocrat, pulls him into a dangerous divide between colonizer and colonized. Ed Westwick plays Lord James Brooke and John Hannah plays Sergeant Murray, adding British pressure to the narrative. The series is an eight-episode season set in nineteenth century colonial Asia, with exotic locations, sea battles and courtly intrigue. Its tone is rousing and romantic, with a strong anticolonial streak and an emphasis on justice and loyalty. Fans of Black Sails, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Count of Monte Cristo will find a similar blend of seafaring action, period spectacle and doomed romance.

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