Our Flag Means Death by David Jenkins is (very) loosely based on the true adventures of the 18th century Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), who wanted to be a pirate. After trading the apparently charming life of a gentleman for that of a drunkard, Stede became captain of the pirate ship Revenge.
Stede struggles to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, but his fate changes after a fateful encounter with the infamous Captain Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). To their surprise, the very different Stede and Blackbeard found more than friendship on the high seas... they found love. Now they have to survive.
The series also stars Samson Kayo, Vico Ortiz, Ewen Bremner, Joel Fry, Matthew Maher, Kristian Nairn, Con O'Neill, David Fane, Samba Schutte, Nat Faxon and Leslie Jones.
“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 rep for Max said in a statement. “We also thank the dedicated fans who embraced these stories and built a gorgeous, inclusive community surrounding the show.”
The series was nominated and won awards, including Outstanding New Series at the GLAAD Media Awards and recognition for period production design and hairstyling.
Sources understand that the first two seasons will not be removed from the streaming service.
Jenkins shared his thoughts via Instagram which reads in part, “I’m very sad I won’t set foot on the Revenge again with my friends, some of whom have become close to family. But I couldn’t be more grateful for being allowed to captain the damn thing in the first place.”
Our Flag Means Death is produced by Waititi along with creator-showrunner Jenkins, Basch, Halsted, Stein and Douaihy.