A screenwriter should always be aware that the more expensive his vision is, the more difficult it will be to sell the project and, if it receives the green light, renew it for multiple seasons. This is the case of Our flag means death, a pirate comedy, which has been canceled after two seasons despite having become a cult comedy for critics.
The reasons are simple. It has a choral cast. It is a period series (the action takes place in the 18th century) with specific needs in terms of wardrobe and hairdressing. Each episode requires scenes shot on boats. And, when going from port to port, there is also the logistics of having to set each new scene. Its high budget due to it being a half-hour format almost prevented it from being renewed for a second season and, now that it was time to renew for a third, HBO Max has said enough.
“The bad news is clear. Our flag will not return for a third season. “We set sail at the pleasure of the good people of Max, and they were not happy to have to end the voyage prematurely,” said creator David Jenkins. He wanted to acknowledge, in fact, the extent to which directors such as Casey Bloys, Sarah Aubrey, Suzanna Makkos, Billy Wee and David Ruby supported him in making his work a reality: “They let us do something authentically strange and heartfelt, encouraging us all the way.” .
He regrets that he will not be able to set foot on the Revenge ship again with his friends, whom he now considers family, but he has given up the recurring temptation to blame the platform that produced the series for the cancellation or announce that they are looking for a new one. home for Our flag means death. He believes that the good news is that they were able to produce two seasons, the second of which was thanks to “the enthusiasm of one of the nicest fan communities in the history of the medium.”
Our Flag Means Death was loosely based on Stede Bonet, a wealthy man who decided to take up piracy without need. From here, Jenkins wrote a kind of workplace comedy based on the crew's dysfunctional dynamics, which in turn became a romantic comedy with the romantic tension between Stede Bonet and the legendary Blackbeard, played by Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi, also known for his role as director and screenwriter of films such as Thor Ragnarok or Jojo Rabbit.
For Waititi, in fact, this is the second cancellation he has suffered in recent weeks. The FX channel announced that What We Do in the Shadows, which it produces and is based on its New Zealand film of the same name, has also been canceled after six seasons. In Spain, it is also broadcast through HBO Max, so subscribers have had two cult comedies canceled consecutively.
