Our Flag Means Death

Our Flag Means Death is an American period romantic comedy television series created by David Jenkins. Set in the early 18th century during the Golden Age of Piracy, the series follows the misadventures of gentleman-turned-pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and his crew aboard the Revenge as they try to make a name for themselves as pirates and cross paths with famed pirate captain Blackbeard (Taika Waititi).

The first season premiered on March 3, 2022, on HBO Max and received positive reviews, including praise for its LGBTQ+ representation. In June 2022, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on Max on October 5, 2023. In January 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons.

Premise
The series is loosely based on the life of Stede Bonnet, also known as the "Gentleman Pirate". Set in 1717, the first season depicts the early days of Bonnet's career as a pirate after abandoning his family and his comfortable life as a member of the landed gentry of Barbados. Bonnet is portrayed as having little or no aptitude for this role, with no experience beyond that of his privileged life.

Aboard their ship, the Revenge, the newly minted Captain Bonnet and his dysfunctional crew struggle to survive against deadly threats both from naval warships and other bloodthirsty pirates. During their misadventures, the crew of the Revenge cross paths with notorious pirate captain Edward Teach and his crew, including First Mate Izzy Hands. Comedy and chaos ensue as Teach and Bonnet fall in love.

Main

 * Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet, a wealthy Barbadian landowner, who has grown tired of his sedentary life and unhappy marriage and abandoned his family to begin a life of piracy despite having no aptitude for it. After purchasing a ship and hiring a crew, he seeks to brand himself as the Gentleman Pirate. Rhys Darby's son Theo Darby portrays Stede Bonnet as a child.
 * Ewen Bremner as Nathaniel Buttons, the grizzled first mate on the Revenge whom Stede often calls upon for advice and who is capable of talking with seagulls. After he collects various items for an "avian transmogrification" spell, he seemingly transforms into a seagull and flies away.
 * Joel Fry as Frenchie, a crewmate on the Revenge who often sings of the crew's adventures. At the end of the first season, he joins Blackbeard's crew.
 * Samson Kayo as Oluwande Boodhari, a level-headed crewmate on the Revenge who is sympathetic to Stede and tries to steer him away from danger.
 * Nathan Foad as Lucius Spriggs, a scribe on the Revenge tasked with keeping a record of its adventures who often helps Stede come to terms with his feelings. His relationship with Black Pete leads to their eventual marriage at the end of the second season.
 * Vico Ortiz as Jim Jimenez, a skilled fighter who has a bounty on their head for killing one of Spanish Jackie's husbands. With their friend and eventual lover Oluwande's help, they join the crew of the Revenge in disguise while posing as a mute. At the end of the first season, they join Blackbeard's crew. Allyson Juliette portrays Jim as a child.
 * Matthew Maher as Black Pete, an irritable pirate aboard the Revenge who claims to have crewed with Blackbeard. He later becomes Lucius's husband.
 * Kristian Nairn as Wee John Feeney, a crewmate on the Revenge obsessed with fire.
 * Rory Kinnear as Captain Nigel Badminton (season 1), a Royal Navy officer who bullied Stede when they were children. Kinnear also portrays Nigel's twin brother, Admiral Chauncey Badminton.
 * Con O'Neill as Israel "Izzy" Hands, Blackbeard's ruthless first mate who has served under him for many years.
 * Guz Khan as Ivan (season 1), a member of Blackbeard's crew who joins him on the Revenge.
 * David Fane as Kevin / Fang, an emotional member of Blackbeard's crew who joins him on the Revenge.
 * Taika Waititi as Edward "Ed" Teach / Blackbeard, the legendary and feared pirate captain who has become bored with his life and career, feeling that his reputation has made it too easy. He becomes fascinated with Bonnet after hearing about him from his first mate Izzy, and decides to seek him out. Mateo Gallegos portrays Edward Teach as a child.
 * Samba Schutte as Roach (season 2; recurring season 1), a cleaver-wielding cook and doctor on the Revenge.

Recurring

 * Nat Faxon as The Swede, a Swedish crewmate on the Revenge, often clueless of what's going on. At the beginning of the second season, he leaves Stede's crew after becoming Jackie's twentieth husband but later rejoins at the end of the season.
 * Claudia O'Doherty as Mary Bonnet (season 1), Stede's wife.
 * Boris McGiver as Father Bonnet (season 1), Stede's emotionally abusive father.
 * William Barber-Holler as Louis Bonnet (season 1), Stede and Mary's son.
 * Eden Grace Redfield as Alma Bonnet (season 1), Stede and Mary's daughter.
 * Michael Patrick Crane as Officer Wellington (season 1), a Royal Navy officer who is taken hostage by Stede's crew.
 * Connor Barrett as Officer Hornberry (season 1), a Royal Navy officer who is taken hostage by Stede's crew.
 * Leslie Jones as Spanish Jackie, a powerful and feared pirate bar owner in the Republic of Pirates who has had 19 husbands. At the end of the second season, she joins the crew of the Revenge.
 * Fred Armisen as Geraldo (season 1), a shifty barkeep in the Republic of Pirates and one of Jackie's husbands.
 * Madeleine Sami as Archie (season 2), a new member of Blackbeard's crew who forms a close bond with Jim.
 * Ruibo Qian as Zheng Yi Sao (season 2), the pirate queen of China and captain of an all-female ship, the Red Flag, who initially masquerades as Susan, a soup seller. At the end of the second season, she joins the crew of the Revenge.
 * Anapela Polataivao as Auntie (season 2), the first mate and navigator for Zheng Yi Sao's crew. At the end of the second season, she joins the crew of the Revenge.
 * Erroll Shand as Richard "Ricky" Banes (season 2), a prince of minor nobility who became inspired by Stede to embrace the pirate lifestyle, but later leads an anti-piracy campaign after his attempt at becoming a pirate leaves him without a nose.

Guest

 * Gary Farmer as Chief Mabo (season 1), an indigenous leader who is wary of colonizers.
 * Benton Jennings as an Anglican priest (season 1), who droningly performs Mary and Stede's marriage ceremony near a lighthouse.
 * Nick Kroll as Gabriel (season 1), a French aristocrat and Antoinette's partner/brother.
 * Kristen Schaal as Antoinette (season 1), a French aristocrat and Gabriel's partner/sister.
 * Brian Gattas as Siegfried (season 1), a German aristocrat.
 * Yvonne Zima as Fleur de Maguis (season 1), a French aristocrat.
 * Angus Sampson as George I (season 1), the King of Great Britain who issues the Act of Grace in an attempt to suppress piracy.
 * Simone Kessell as Mother Teach (season 1), Blackbeard's mother.
 * Damien Gerard as Father Teach (season 1), Blackbeard's father.
 * Selenis Leyva as "Nana" (season 1), a nun from St. Augustine who was Jim's guardian and mentor.
 * Will Arnett as Jack Rackham / Calico Jack (season 1), a recently deposed pirate captain and former friend of Blackbeard who served with him under Captain Hornigold.
 * Kristen Johnston as Evelyn Higgins (season 1), Mary's friend who attends a community gathering for widows.
 * Tim Heidecker as Doug (season 1), Mary's painting instructor and lover.
 * Mark Mitchinson as Benjamin "Ben" Hornigold (season 2), a pirate captain whom Blackbeard previously served under. He appears to Blackbeard during a dream sequence.
 * Maaka Pohatu as John Bartholomew (season 2), a pirate captain whose ship is captured by Zheng Yi Sao.
 * Rachel House as Mary Read (season 2), a former pirate and an old acquaintance of Blackbeard who has a love-hate relationship with Anne.
 * Minnie Driver as Anne "Annie" Bonny (season 2), a former pirate and an old acquaintance of Blackbeard who collects antiques with Mary.
 * Bronson Pinchot as Ned Low (season 2), a pirate captain and musician whose record for most raids at sea is broken by Blackbeard.
 * Josie Whittlesey as Hellkat Maggie (season 2), the torturer for Ned's crew.

Development
Creator and showrunner David Jenkins was inspired to write the show after learning about Stede Bonnet from his wife and subsequently reading his Wikipedia article. He was particularly interested in filling in the blanks of Bonnet's life, trying to find his motivations for abandoning his family as well as understanding why Blackbeard took him under his wing. From the outset he envisioned the show as centering on a romantic relationship between Bonnet and Blackbeard, and pitched it as such.

Taika Waititi, who shares a manager with Jenkins, became involved after Jenkins told him the story of Stede Bonnet and asked if he wanted to be involved. Waititi was attracted to the project because of what he believed to be Jenkins' original approach to pirates. In subsequent discussions, they agreed that a romance between Bonnet and Teach was "the reason to do the show". Garrett Basch later joined the project as executive producer after reading the script for the pilot episode.

The show was given a straight to series order by HBO Max in September 2020 with Jenkins, Basch and Halstead as executive producers, and Waititi as both an executive producer and director of the first episode. On June 1, 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.

Casting
Casting an actor to play Stede Bonnet began shortly after the series was ordered. While Rhys Darby's name was mentioned early in the process, it was not until after an unsuccessful round of auditions and most of the script had been written that he was again brought into consideration. His casting was officially announced in January 2021. Jenkins stated that Darby made an otherwise unlikable Stede Bonnet likeable, telling Slash Film that he was "the only person who could play it". Darby, whose career has consisted primarily of supporting comedic roles, saw the role as an opportunity to branch out and play a leading, and more dramatic role, telling Deadline "I looked at myself and how much experience I've had over the years and I felt maybe it is time to step up."

Taika Waititi, who was already attached as executive producer and director, joined the cast to play Blackbeard four months later in April 2021. Jenkins had begun writing the role with Waititi in mind, and eventually approached him over text asking if he would be interested in playing Blackbeard. In the official casting announcement Jenkins said of Waititi "Our Blackbeard is a legend, a lover, a fighter, a tactical genius, a poetic soul and quite possibly insane. Only one man could play this role, and that is the great Taika Waititi. We're thrilled beyond measure he's decided to don the beard."

In June, it was announced that Kristian Nairn, Nathan Foad, Samson Kayo, Rory Kinnear, Con O'Neill and Vico Ortiz had been added to the cast, with the additions of Ewen Bremner, David Fane, Joel Fry, Guz Khan and Matthew Maher announced in July. In August, it was announced that Leslie Jones, Nat Faxon, Fred Armisen and Samba Schutte were cast in recurring roles.

Filming
Filming took place between June 14 and September 28, 2021. Taika Waititi, who serves as an executive producer, also directed the pilot episode, which was filmed after Waititi completed production on Thor: Love and Thunder. The scenes aboard the Revenge were filmed on a soundstage using StageCraft.

The second season began filming on September 25, 2022, in New Zealand. It wrapped on December 13, 2022.

Music
The original score for the series was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. On May 5, 2022, it was announced that the soundtrack album for the first season would be released by WaterTower Music on May 6, 2022. The soundtrack for the second season released on October 26, 2023.

Cancellation
On January 9, 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons. Vanity Fair called Our Flag Means Death's cancellation "the end of a unique TV era." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Our Flag Means Death's high-profile cancellation along with a wave of content contraction in the streaming industry contributed to the end of peak TV. The cancellation was seen as surprising given the show's popularity and critical success. Some critics felt the cancellation was part of a trend called "Cancel Your Gays", where series with extensive queer representation are prematurely cancelled. TV Insider called the cancellation "shocking" while acknowledging "it's a sad reality that TV shows with queer characters in the lead roles are often canceled." Fans responded to the cancellation on social media with many wondering if the decision to cancel the series was rooted in homophobia. A fan-funded campaign dubbed "Renew as a Crew" was launched and raised enough funds to rent both a billboard in Times Square and a plane flying over Hollywood with the message "Save Our Flag Means Death". A campaign to get the series picked up by a different streamer continued under the banner of "Adopt Our Crew", a fan-led group that would later expand its mission to promote the OFMD casts' new projects as well as advocate for the fair treatment of other queer series. In March 2024, series creator David Jenkins announced that he was unable to find a new home for the series.

In April 2024, cast member Samba Schutte appeared on the podcast You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes and confirmed the cancellation was due to Max's financial issues, stating the third season "didn't get picked up by Max...because no money, they don't have money. It's an expensive show to make."

An official Our Flag Means Death podcast was greenlit at Max with Schutte set to host but was ultimately cancelled due to Warner Bros. Discovery's ongoing financial struggles.

Release
Our Flag Means Death's first season premiered on HBO Max on March 3, 2022, and released 2–3 weekly episodes through March 24, 2022.

The BBC acquired the series in December 2022 and announced plans to air it in the United Kingdom in early 2023. Our Flag Means Death aired on BBC Two on January 4, 2023, at 10 pm, with one episode airing each week. After the first episode aired, every episode became available to watch or download via the BBC's iPlayer. The second season began airing on February 5, 2024, again on BBC Two in a 10 pm weekday timeslot. Once again, all episodes from the second season became available immediately afterwards on its iPlayer streaming service.

On August 24, 2023, a Vanity Fair exclusive first look revealed Our Flag Means Death's second season would premiere on Max in October 2023. The following week, Max released a teaser and announced the second season would premiere with 3 episodes on October 5, 2023, and would run through October 26, 2023.

Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 94% for the first season based on 45 critic reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Our Flag Means Death's gentle sensibility doesn't quite strike comedic gold, but its bemusing band of buccaneers are endearing enough that viewers seeking a comforting watch will find bountiful booty." Metacritic gave the first season a weighted average score of 70 out of 100 based on 13 critic reviews. An analysis of Metacritic's year-end compilation of 122 TV critic top 10 lists revealed that critics considered Our Flag Means Death to be one of the "best TV shows" of 2022.

The second season received a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 96%. The critical consensus reads "Our Flag Means Death's sophomore season doubles down on the fans' favorite ship to some diminishing returns, but it still delivers enough joyous moments to get viewers' sabers rattling." Rotten Tomatoes included the second season in their list of the best reviewed TV series of 2023. Metacritic gave the second season a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 16 critic reviews.

Dubbed "The Sigh of Relief Heard 'Round the Internet" by Vanity Fair, the series renewal was highly anticipated by both critics and audiences.

The series was praised for its substantial LGBTQ+ representation, which consists of three queer relationships, one of which involves a nonbinary character (Jim Jimenez). The central romance of the show, between Bonnet and Teach, was originally believed by many to be a "friendship". Critics praised the series for subverting the common queerbaiting trope by making Bonnet and Teach's relationship explicit before the end of the season.

Critics also commended the series for centering the experiences of people of color. According to Jenkins, he and his diverse writers room aimed to portray the historical realities of people of color at the time without subjecting characters and viewers to "trauma porn", stating "we wanted a show where these characters can exist in a fantasy world and their race ... doesn't automatically lead to a traumatic storyline for them". The Chicago Tribune praised the series for not shying away from lampooning racism and colonialism, but disapproved of the writers’ decision to omit to the historical Bonnet's slave-owning past.

Viewership
The first season debuted to popular acclaim and ranks among the top five most watched Max Original comedy series launches. Audience demand for the series more than tripled during the three weeks between its premiere and season 1 finale. Our Flag Means Death became the most in-demand breakout series in the U.S. following the release of season 1 episodes 9 and 10 and surpassed demand for popular HBO Max titles Peacemaker and Euphoria. The series unseated The Book of Boba Fett, which had claimed the top spot for three months. Our Flag Means Death was the most in-demand breakout series across all streaming platforms in the U.S. for seven consecutive weeks before being surpassed by the premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Our Flag Means Death regained the top spot the following week. The first season of Our Flag Means Death was the 5th most in-demand series on HBO Max and the 2nd most in-demand series among young adult viewers in 2022.

The premiere of the second season exceeded the first season's peak demand. The second season averaged nearly 45 times the average series demand in its first 10 days, outpacing demand for the third seasons of The Righteous Gemstones and Succession. The instant success of the second season elevated the series to flagship status at Max. The second season of Our Flag Means Death was Max's 3rd most popular series of 2023, ranking behind The Last of Us and Succession.

Our Flag Means Death is considered to be a word-of-mouth marketing triumph due to a surge of online popularity that drove viewership and demand. The series has been called a sleeper hit due to its surprising success despite receiving little marketing from HBO Max. Its growing rise in popularity has been compared to the word-of-mouth success Ted Lasso experienced.