Our Flag Means Death fans take Leicester Square

Our Flag Means Death fans gather at the London Billboard.

On March 11, 2024, dozens of Our Flag Means Death devotees gathered in Leicester Square under a fan-funded billboard calling for the hit TV show to be saved.

Some came dressed in pirate costumes, others attended wearing Our Flag Means Death and Pride themed t-shirts and badges. Gathered fans stated that they were there to celebrate the show, and express their love for the cast and crew that made it happen. Many also expressed their ongoing desire for the story to continue, in the wake of news from show creator David Jenkins that talks to get it picked up by another network had reached “the end of the road”.

Many spoke of their hope of seeing the show picked up should circumstances in the industry shift in the future, or for the story to be continued in some other form such as a film (following in the footsteps of other cancelled shows like Veronica Mars, Firefly, and Wynonna Earp).

Fans raised £16,000 in just two weeks in order to fund the billboard and a series of advertising trucks that will target Netflix, Amazon, and Apple's London HQs over the next few days. Any additional funds not allocated to advertising will be donated to charity.

A van took the message to Netflix. Vans will also go to Amazon and Apple.

With the billboard and the gathering, fans are fighting to save not only Our Flag Means Death but also other shows like it. Advocating for these stories has taken on new importance in an era where streamers are pulling investment away from quality content to focus on remakes, reboots, and spin-offs, despite the need to attract and maintain subscribers.

Save OFMD Crew member and billboard organiser Erin Ekins says: “It was amazing to have so many people come along to celebrate Our Flag Means Death, and to rally under our call for the industry to start treating marginalised stories better.

“Instead of sadness, the tone of the gathering was joyous. We were celebrating this wonderful show and the community it has given so many of us. There is a real sense of continued hope that we will see this story continue one day, in whatever form that may take - and a desire to keep fighting for it in the wake of an industry that is disproportionately cancelling queer stories.

"It may not be the right time for another network to pick up our show, but we will never give up on Our Flag Means Death – this billboard, and the advertising trucks that will be visiting Netflix, Apple, and Amazon’s London HQs over the next few days, are testament to that. It’s about celebrating a show that made so many people – LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC, disabled and neurodivergent people – feel seen, and about making sure that Our Flag Means Death is firmly etched in streamers’ minds as a lucrative show with a passionate fanbase that they may wish to revisit should the tide of the industry turn.

“I will never stop fighting for Our Flag Means Death, and for the many other marginalised stories that have been disproportionately axed before their time. It’s time for networks to let us finish our stories properly.”

Fans are still calling out for Our Flag Means Death to be saved.

For more on Save OFMD Crew and its initiatives, and to speak to fans about why Our Flag Means Death is so important to them, contact Save OFMD Crew at contact@saveofmd.com or visit help.saveofmd.com for full details of the campaign to save Our Flag Means Death.