One of the most devastating events to happen in 2024 was the premature cancelation of HBO’s Our Flag Means Death. The pirate comedy followed the exploits of Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and his crew, and it ultimately surprised viewers in the second half of the first season when Bonnet and Ed ‘Blackbeard’ Teach (Taika Waititi) fell in love. Showrunner David Jenkins had been very upfront about the story only needing 3 seasons to complete its arc. However, on January 9, 2024, news came of the show’s unceremonious cancelation after just two seasons.
What followed was a whirlwind of activity from the fandom, with various campaigns going out and tweetstorms created. A petition was passed around. It all seemed so obvious that somebody would pick up the show—everybody talked about it! It was a critical darling! Sadly, all the efforts were futile, in the end, as on March 7, 2024, Jenkins announced that the show was not going to be picked up by another streamer. Pirates everywhere wept. (Me especially, since it was my birthday.)
However, the fight never truly ended. Campaigns to save shows have persisted, and successfully, despite what seemed like the end. And nobody truly wanted to let a show this special go, especially when all it needed was one more season! Just one! I personally have been in fandoms longer than I care to admit, and Our Flag Means Death is such a special, special show. It deserves to have its final season the way it was envisioned.
So what comes next?
After a period of silence on X (formerly Twitter), Jenkins began interacting with fans again. While at first it was just little things such as responding to fan edits and fan theories (without spoiling any future plot points, a very important thing to note), on September 20, he tweeted what then sparked a frenzied flurry of activity within the online fandom.
In response to a Netflix tweet, Jenkins quote tweeted, “@netflix hmu about another two season comedy that’s available.”
Netflix was one of the three original streamers Jenkins tagged on an Instagram post back in January during the renewal efforts. It is not far out of the realm of possibility that Netflix could be the streamer to pick up OFMD. Sure, it has had its own cancelations recently, but so has everyone else. The industry is scrambling right now. It led to the initial cancelation, but it could also be what saves it.
David Ruby, who works as a creative executive at Netflix, once worked at HBO. In an interview with Chapman University for their alumni spotlight, Ruby was asked what fictional world he would live in. Alongside Tuca & Bertie (another prematurely canceled show), Ruby mentioned Our Flag Means Death, stating, “[o]r Our Flag Means Death because I think I would make a great pirate.”
What could that mean for the future of Our Flag Means Death?
Having somebody at Netflix who is already a fan of the show is a huge positive. Jenkins has been outspoken recently about the show’s favorability, solidifying his statement back in March about it being more about the industry. His recent replying directly to Netflix on Twitter is a very calculated move and, in my opinion, shows some faith in Netflix possibly being the streamer to pick OFMD up.
However, as we know, the industry is in flux right now. Shows are being canceled much more frequently. While I don’t believe this could be a full stop in the efforts, it does seem to point to being more of a roadblock that could make it take longer. Jenkins interacting with the fans again, and tweeting out that “we had the #’s btw” shows a continued faith. That, plus recent tweets where he continues to refer to the show’s fate as “would” instead of “could.”
All that is to say, I truly do hope that we can get our final season. I am so tired of seeing excellent shows prematurely canceled. Ed and Stede deserve their wedding. Ricky deserves his defeat after destroying the Republic of Pirates. And, most important of all, everybody who worked so hard on this show deserves to see their visions played out the way they were intended to.
Published: Sep 26, 2024 12:44 pm