Why Our Flag Means Death deserves to be saved

Image: NICOLA DOVE/MAX

This isn’t just a silly pirate show. Fans are campaigning for the Our Flag Means Death story to be concluded because it means something.

Fans of Our Flag Means Death are campaigning to get the show picked up by another streamer following its cancellation, but this campaign doesn’t just reflect the disappointment of fans who have had their favourite show cancelled. Fans are fighting because Our Flag is important and groundbreaking and so much more than a TV show.

Why Our Flag Means Death matters

This isn’t just a campaign to get a third season of Our Flag Means Death — it’s advocacy for a show that has struck a chord with both LGBTQ+ and mainstream audiences, offering a refreshing depiction of queer relationships and demonstrating that it is possible to change and find happiness and love in later life.

The campaign to save OFMD is also advocating for a devoted fandom. In a statement to Variety, a Max spokesperson thanked the show’s “dedicated fans who embraced these stories and built a gorgeous, inclusive community surrounding the show”. This global band of dedicated fans have united in calling for the story of Our Flag Means Death to be continued.

These fans are also the reason why the show needs to be saved. As showrunner David Jenkins said to Polygon in May 2022: “I feel good that people can watch the show and see themselves, and feel like, 'Yes, we are mainstream. We’re not being shuttled off to the side.’ It’s not a specialty show. It’s for everyone. It makes me so happy that it’s been received that way”. Many fans of Our Flag are from LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and neurodivergent communities and feel themselves underrepresented in media. Cancelling shows that speak to them hits hard.

The show itself is made up of a dedicated cast of queer, non-binary, and BIPOC characters, including nonbinary actor Vico Ortiz (Jim Jimenez). This show is packed with impressive talent: Renowned director Taika Waititi (Ed Teach/Blackbeard), for whom this is a passion project, not only stars as one of the co-leads but also directs and produces. Waititi is joined by fellow New Zealanders Rhys Darby (Stede Bonnet/The Gentleman Pirate) and David Fane (Fang). From the UK there’s Ewen Bremner (Nathaniel Buttons), Joel Fry (Frenchie), Samson Kayo (Oluwande Boodhari), Nathan Foad (Lucius Spriggs), Kristian Nairn (Wee John Feeney), and Con O’Neill (Izzy Hands). Also on the cast are Matthew Maher (Black Pete), Samba Schutte (Roach), and Nat Faxon (The Swede). In season two, female representation increases with Minnie Driver (Anne Bonny), Rachel House (Mary Read), Anapela Polataivao (Auntie), and Ruibo Qian (Zheng Yi Sao) joining Leslie Jones (Spanish Jackie). We run through who's who in the Our Flag Means Death crew in a separate article.

Image: NICOLA DOVE/MAX

The cast is as dedicated to the fans as the fans are to the cast. The cast regularly meets fans at conventions and shares behind the scenes material. Kristian Nairn hosts a weekly Wee John Wondays livestream on Instagram, often joined by members of the Our Flag cast. The love the crew has for one another is apparent. As Jenkins said in an Instagram post about the cancellation: “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”.

Was Our Flag Means Death not popular?

Max cancelled Our Flag Means Death despite the show being critically acclaimed and despite its devoted fan base. Regarding the cancellation, Max’s chief executive Casey Bloys told the Hollywood Reporter that “the numbers weren’t there,” but data reveals that Our Flag Means Death was one of Max’s most popular shows. Parrot Analytics figures indicate that Our Flag Means Death was the third most in-demand Max series in the 60 days post-premiere, with 39.6 times more demand than the average show. Crucially, those figures were more than 30 days after the season had concluded.

Months later Our Flag was still the fifth most popular show in the States. According to Statista’s figures for US audiences, Our Flag was more popular than Apple TV’s Ted Lasso and Netflix’s Witcher between 29 January 29 and 4 February 2024.

This is despite little marketing for the show, which found its fandom via word of mouth, and a release strategy that could have been damaging to Our Flag’s popularity. Our Flag Means Death’s Season 2 run in the US on Max took place over four weeks in October 2023, at which time writers and actors were still striking so the cast weren’t able to talk about the show.

Fans in the UK had to wait another five months for the whole season to be released on iPlayer at the beginning of February — with a late Monday evening slot on BBC2 for those without access to the streamer. There are fans around the world still waiting for Our Flag Means Death to air in their countries since Max has poor international reach due to licensing agreements with Sky. Despite these potentially harmful release schedules, the second season of Our Flag was wildly popular.

Why was Our Flag Means Death cancelled?

So, why did Max cancel such a show that is so in demand? One suggestion is that Max’s decision to cancel Our Flag Means Death was a financial one. The past few years have seen a lot of change in the industry. Back in 2020, when everyone was stuck at home, there was a lot of demand for TV shows, so money was invested into original content. Now it seems that the streamers are pulling back on this investment, and groundbreaking shows like Our Flag Means Death are being sidelined as a result.

But if it really is a financial decision, why not cancel more expensive shows? The available information indicates that Our Flag was no more expensive to make than other Max shows. Indeed, the series reportedly received a 40% budget cut for Season 2. As a result, filming was relocated from Los Angeles to Aotearoa/New Zealand, where production is more affordable and includes rebates, as Taika Waititi discussed in a 2022 Indiewire interview.

Unfortunately, Our Flag is not alone. Our Flag Means Death is one of a number of shows that have been cancelled including Schmigadoon (Apple TV+), The Flight Attendant (Max), Rap Sh!t (Max), American Born Chinese (Disney+), Julia (Max), Wellmania (Netflix), Gentleman Jack (Max), Glamorous (Netflix), and Three Pines (Amazon). The cancellations of Warrior Nun (Netflix) and Shadow and Bone (Netflix) also saw fans unite in campaigns to save their shows.

According to Variety, there is a 12.2% cancellation rate across Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Apple TV+, Peacock, and Paramount+ — but with an average cancellation rate of 26.9%, Max stands out from the pack.

These cancellations include several LGBTQ+-themed shows, which makes those groups feel particularly attacked and raises questions about the factors that led to the abrupt end of Our Flag and other series. Fans feel that there was a time when queer narratives were no longer being sanitized and suppressed, and groundbreaking shows that would have been impossible in the past were being made — but the tide has now turned, and the genre is once more being shunned.

Image: NICOLA DOVE/MAX

It will be a travesty if only mainstream stories are made at the expense of these important stories that need to be told. The streamers stand to lose out in the long run if they stop making shows like Our Flag Means Death: If successful shows continue to be cancelled before they are finished, viewers may think twice before investing their time watching — and their money subscribing. Customers may also cancel their subscriptions when they see shows being removed from streamers who don’t want to continue to pay residuals for them.

Will Our Flag Means Death be saved?

The campaign to save Our Flag Means Death isn’t unique. Other fan-led campaigns have been successful: Lucifer was picked up by Netflix after being cancelled by Fox, Daredevil was cancelled by Netflix and later revived by Disney+ (MarvelStudios), and the list goes on. There was also a successful fan drive to get the third season of Good Omens on Amazon Prime Video.

Unlike Season 2 of Good Omens, Season 2 of Our Flag ended on a generally positive note, leading some to suggest that another season isn’t required. However, there is a lot of story still to be told. The show’s creator David Jenkins has always envisaged that it would take three seasons to tell the story. He told Polygon back in 2022, “I think three seasons is good. I think we could do it in three”.

Following the release of Season 2 in October 2023 Jenkins told Inverse: “I have plans for season three… I have a clear idea where I’d like to take it”. Jenkins revealed that Season 3 would explore “what happens after you start a small business together? How does that work? How do you keep a relationship going? What are the problems in a relationship that are more than just like, oh, does he like me or does he not like me? How do you be a person for that person, and continue to grow with them? What happens if one of them stops growing and you keep growing?… That, to me, is a natural outgrowth of what we like in happily ever after.”

For another network to pick up Our Flag Means Death, they will have to either be onboard with just one more season, which could make the show less attractive, or be inspired by the other characters in the show and where their storylines might take them in spinoff series — an idea that excites fans. Another hope is that the story could continue in the form of a movie or miniseries.

Whatever the outcome, fans believe that Our Flag Means Death’s story should be allowed to continue, but, in the words of Izzy Hands: “It’s not about glory, it’s not about getting what you want. It’s about belonging to something when the world has told you you’re nothing. It’s about finding the family to kill for when yours are long dead. It’s about letting go of ego for something larger — the crew”. And one thing that fans have found is family.