The Passive-Aggression Strikes Again: Our Flag Means Death Canceled After Two Seasons
Alas, me mateys, it turns out there's only one thing riskier than being a pampered 18th-century aristocrat who suddenly decides to try their hand at being a pirate: being a critically acclaimed LGBTQIA+-friendly show with a passionate and fiercely loyal fanbase at Warner Bros. Discovery under the watch of CEO David Zaslav.
Sadly, after two magnificent seasons of plundering the seven seas, "Our Flag Means Death" has officially been canceled. "While Max will not be moving forward with a third season of 'Our Flag Means Death,' we are so proud of the joyous, hilarious, and heartfelt stories that creator David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, Rhys Darby, Garrett Basch, Dan Halsted, Adam Stein, Antoine Douaihy, and the entire superb cast and crew brought to life," a Max spokesperson said in a statement posted by Variety.
Created by Jenkins and executive produced by Waititi (who also helmed the series pilot), "Our Flag Means Death" centers on Stede Bonnet (Darby), a Barbadian landowner who leaves his unhappy marriage and family behind to become a pirate captain, only to fall in with — and, even more unexpectedly, fall in love with — the nefarious buccaneer Edward "Blackbeard" Teach (Waititi). The series draws very loosely from real events but is generally content to chart its course, bringing Stede, Ed, and the merry band of weirdos they call their crew face-to-face with legendary marauders like Anne "Annie" Bonny (Minnie Driver) and the pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao (Ruibo Qian) during their adventures, blatant historical inaccuracies be damned.
Ed and Stede's love story comes to a premature end
Despite the breakout success of season 1, it took WB a hot minute to renew "Our Flag Means Death" (which it eventually did on the first day of Pride Month 2022, a performative and more than a little bit condescending act of allyship if there ever was one). And even then, it was only brought back for a shortened second season — one in which Jenkins was forced to slash the show's budget by as much as 40 percent (per The Wall Street Journal), much of which was only possible through tax credits and other savings after production moved from Los Angeles to New Zealand.
Clearly recognizing that season 3 would be a long shot, Jenkins opted to bring some closure to Ed and Stede's tumultuous romance at the end of season 2 (along with other major plot threads), all while still leaving just enough room for their story to possibly continue. It's a good thing he did, too, as I can only imagine the (deserved) furious anger the "Our Flag Means Death" fanbase would reign down on Zaslav's head if he had canceled the show after a cliffhanger ending ... not that they won't do that anyway. Meanwhile, at least we still have those first two precious seasons to treasure, now that "OFMD" has joined the likes of "Los Espookys" on the list of delightfully strange, queer Max shows that were too weird to live and too rare to die.
"Our Flag Means Death" seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Max.