Sorry, Our Flag Means Death fans – the queer pirate comedy will likely end with season three
Ahoy there, matey (HBO)
The second season of Max comedy Our Flag Means Death has only just been announced, but the show’s creator is already indicating that season three could mark its end.
According to showrunner David Jenkins, the ship has already sailed on Our Flag Means Death becoming a long-running, high-seas comedy series, and it will end after its third season. That is, of course, if it gets renewed for a third outing in the first place.
The series has garnered a large and unwavering fanbase since it premiered in the US in 2022 and in the UK earlier this year, with many celebrating it for its broad LGBTQ+ inclusion.
At its heart, Our Flag Means Death subverts the true story of “Gentleman Pirate” Stede Bonnet and Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, two 18th century pirate ship captains who were collaborators turned rivals.
In this new TV version, Stede and Blackbeard, played by Yes, Man actor Rhys Darby and Jojo Rabbit’s Taika Waititi respectively, aren’t enemies. Instead, they fall head over heels in love with one another.
At the end for the first season, fans watched in despair as Stede decided that the pirate life was not for him, and opted to leave Blackbeard and return back to his wife.
After learning that his wife had herself moved on, Stede realised that he was in love with Blackbeard the whole time, and began a voyage to see them reunited. Blackbeard, however, was consumed by rage. In revenge he cast ashore the entire crew from Stede’s ship.
At the end of last month, the trailer for the second season dropped, promising that Blackbeard’s rage at being abandoned by Stede will continue for a while yet – with potentially murderous consequences.
While Our Flag Means Death is anchored by a steadfast following, it will reportedly begin to walk the plank if and when a third season is commissioned.
After David Jenkins shared the season two trailer on his Instagram account, he was met with a flurry of fans expressing their excitement, with YouTuber Kristin Chirico commenting: “David, are you trying to kill me?,” and suggesting that they would like a small role in a future season.
To which Jenkins responded: “Help get us picked up for a third (and final) season and we’ll talk,” alongside a kissing emoji.
While Max is yet to announce whether Our Flag Means Death will be renewed for a third season, it seems that if it is, it will mark the show’s end.
Though streaming services appear to be going through a series exodus at the moment, culling queer favourites including Warrior Nun, A League of their Own, and Willow, it would be surprising if Our Flag Means Death didn’t make it to a third season.
Out of 32,000 rankings, the show has achieved a rating of 7.8 out of 10 on IMDb, while Rotten Tomatoes has it sitting with a 93 per cent approval rating.
Alongside the melodrama of Blackbeard and Stede, there are several other queer romances keeping the show afloat – including between scribe Lucius (Nathan Foad) and Black Pete (Matthew Maher), and non-binary pirate Jim (Vico Ortiz) and shipmate Oluwande (Samson Kayo).
Speaking exclusively to PinkNews earlier this year, Ortiz explained why non-binary characters like Jim are so vital.
“Honestly, it’s such an honour… It felt like I was reclaiming some of our stories,” they explained.
“Unfortunately throughout history a lot of the trans, non-binary, queer stories try to talk about the person as much as possible without acknowledging that they’re queer. When I read for the part and got to interpret Jim, it was like, oh yeah, I get to actually fearlessly embody this journey of somebody who [gets to explore] their identity.”
Our Flag Means Death is available to stream on Max now.
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