Taika Waititi’s Biggest Show Was Just Renewed
Great news for comedy lovers!
HBO Max is saying “Yo Ho” to more episodes of Our Flag Means Death. According to a report from Variety, the pirate comedy has been renewed for a second season. Our Flag Means Death has been a critical hit for the streaming service, while building a devoted fanbase of viewers. Starring Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords) and loosely based on the true story of an English gentleman in the early 1700s who leaves his family behind to take on a life of piracy, the series also stars Taika Waititi and just completed its ten-episode first season in March. HBO Max posted a short video on social media to announce the season two renewal.
The series also stars Ewen Bremner, Joel Fry, Samson Kayo, and Rory Kinnear, and is based on the real-life story of Stede Bonnet (Darby), who left a comfortable existence in England to become the pirate captain of his own ship, The Revenge. He is completely unprepared for the pirate life, but his fortunes take a turn when his journey on the high seas crosses with Ed Teach (Taika Waititi), who came to be known as Blackbeard the Pirate. The series built its following with strong word of mouth, and recently became the #1 streaming series in the United States when the season one finale aired. The official Our Flag Means Death Twitter account celebrated the renewal with a tweet of their own.
Prior to its premiere, the series seemed to be a screwball take on pirate movies, especially with Darby and Taika Waititi on board. Those who expected a comedy in the same vein of Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows (no pun intended) were surprised to see the series take a surprisingly personal tone in the first season, with less slapstick comedy and more focus on the personal relationships. That included a gay romance between the two leads, and additional LGBTQIA+ relationships among the cast of characters. It is likely no surprise, then, that the renewal was announced on the first day of Pride Month. However, it did leave the show’s dedicated fans waiting months for news of the show’s return.
The series was created by David Jenkins, who also created the TBS comedy series People of Earth for TBS. Fans of that show will find a similar tone in Our Flag Means Death, which is more of a character exploration than an outright comedy. That unique tone, however, won over a number of fans for the show, executive produced by Jenkins and Waititi. Amazingly, Our Flag Means Death is the fourth TV series currently airing produced by Taika Waititi. The others are Reservation Dogs, Wellington Paranormal, and What We Do in the Shadows.
In addition to Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi, the series also stars Con O’Neill, Nathan Foad, Vico Ortiz, Kristian Nairn, Matthew Maher, Guz Khan, David Fane, Nat Faxon and Samba Schutte as the crew members of the Revenge. The HBO Max series also included guest stars Leslie Jones, Fred Armisen, Kristen Schaal, Nick Kroll, and Will Arnett. Neither a start of production nor a premiere date for season two has been announced. Ortiz, a non-binary actor, tweeted about the season two renewal.
