Our Flag Means Death

Our Flag Means Death
Genre
Created byDavid Jenkins
Starring
Theme music composerMark Mothersbaugh
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes18
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Todd King
  • Allen Marshall Palmer
Cinematography
Editors
  • Christian Kinnard
  • Hilda Rasula
  • Daniel Haworth
  • Gina Samsom
Running time26–36 minutes
Production companies
  • Waititi
  • Human Animals
  • CereProds
  • Dive
Original release
NetworkHBO Max
ReleaseMarch 3 (2022-03-03) –
March 24, 2022 (2022-03-24)
NetworkMax
ReleaseOctober 5 (2023-10-05) –
October 26, 2023 (2023-10-26)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Our Flag Means Death is an American period romantic comedy[1][2] 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. 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.

Our Flag Means Death garnered widespread critical acclaim, including praise for its LGBTQ+ representation, and was named one of the best series of 2022[3] and 2023[4] by television critics. Additionally, the series received several accolades, including winning two Hollywood Guild awards[5][6] and earning Peabody[7] and GLAAD Media Award[8][9] nominations.

Despite receiving little marketing from HBO Max, the series gradually gained word-of-mouth momentum[10][11] and became a sleeper hit,[12][13] developing a cult following that is considered to be one of the most dedicated and avid fandoms in contemporary television history.[14] Its growing rise in popularity has been compared to the success of Ted Lasso.[15]

  1. ^ Jenkins, David [@david_jenkins__] (March 18, 2022). "Historical pirate rom-com. That's it. That's the pitch. #OurFlagMeansDeath #blackstede #stedebeard #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #stEDe ❤️" (Tweet). Retrieved March 23, 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Travers, Ben (March 24, 2022). "Our Flag Means Death: Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby on Their Pirate Love Story's Sincere Finale — Q&A". IndieWire. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "Best of 2022: Television Critic Top 10 Lists". Metacritic. December 5, 2022. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "THE BEST TV SHOWS OF 2023: EVERY CERTIFIED FRESH SERIES". Rotten Tomatoes. December 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "2023 27rd ADG Awards Winners and Nominees". Art Directors Guild.
  6. ^ "2023 10th Annual Awards Winners". Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild. February 14, 2023.
  7. ^ "2022 Nominee - Our Flag Means Death". The Peabody Awards.
  8. ^ "34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards". GLAAD.
  9. ^ "35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Nominees". GLAAD.
  10. ^ "Our Flag Means Death Is A Triumph Of Word Of Mouth Marketing". GameRant. April 7, 2022. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "HBO Max's "Our Flag Means Death" Becomes a Word of Mouth Global Hit". Señal News. March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  12. ^ "'Our Flag Means Death' Became a Sleeper Hit About Queer Pirates – WSJ". The Wall Street Journal. November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  13. ^ "'Our Flag Means Death' has become a sleeper hit". The Day. May 1, 2022. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  14. ^ Chance, Patches (September 27, 2023). "How Our Flag Means Death Found Its Queer Cult Following". Them.
  15. ^ "Is 'Our Flag Means Death' the New 'Ted Lasso'?". TV Insider. April 12, 2022. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.