Richard
Chamberlain to star in TV Blackbeard

Just before moviegoers get their second dose of Pirates of the Caribbean, Hallmark Channel will bring TV viewers its own swashbuckling action in the form of a four-hour miniseries titled Blackbeard. Angus Macfadyen, Richard Chamberlain, Stacy Keach, and Rachel Ward have been tapped to star in the miniseries, which is set to set sail next June--just ahead of the July 7 launch of Disney's Johnny Depp Pirates sequel. Macfadyen will take on the title role in the Caribbean-set story, which is a slightly fictionalized take on the tales of the pirate Blackbeard. Shooting will take place in Thailand.

The miniseries reunites Chamberlain and Ward, who costarred in the 1983 ABC miniseries The Thorn Birds. The openly gay Chamberlain's recent TV credits include ABC's The Drew Carey Show and CBS's Touched by an Angel. Ward's recent credits include Hallmark Channel's miniseries Johnson County War and the Showtime lesbian-themed family movie Bobbie's Girl. (Kimberly Speight, via Reuters)