Avast, ye landlubbers! HBO Max’s riotous, seafaring pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death is about to set sail for its second season—and we’re celebrating the return of one of TV’s queerest, funniest series.
That’s right, it wasn’t necessarily obvious that Our Flag Means Death was going to be quite so gay during its maiden voyage in 2022, but it gradually revealed its true (rainbow) colors over the course of season one, becoming a proper cult hit in the process.
To back up a bit, the series is very loosely inspired by a real person: Stede Bonnet, known as the “Gentleman Pirate” because he was a fairly wealthy landowner prior to his life of crime on the high seas.
Eventually, Bonnet crossed paths with one Edward Teach—better known as the fearsome Blackbeard—and the two became unlikely cohorts in piracy for some time. And that’s exactly where Our Flag Means Death’s imagination kicks in, depicting Bonnett (Flight Of The Conchords’ Rhys Darby) and Blackbeard (JoJo Rabbit’s Taika Waititi) as star-crossed lovers.
Beyond their meet-cute, Bonnet’s motley crew of the ship Revenge proved to be queer, too, including the skillful Jim Jimenez (series breakout Vico Ortiz) who disguised themself as a mustachioed mute before opening up about their true, nonbinary identity.
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By the end of the first season *spoiler alert* an in-over-hid head Bonnet leaves his lover and attempts to return to his life on land, only to find his family has moved on without him. Hurt and abandoned, Blackbeard digs his heels further into his terrifying reputation.
Fans have been eager to see if these two lovesick pirates can make it work, and the first full-length season two trailer promises their long-awaited reunion, but hell hath no fury like a Blackbeard scorned.
The rest of the clip—perfectly soundtracked by Patti Smith’s rollicking “Because The Night”—showcases all sorts of high-seas mayhem, including a glimpse of Wee John Feeney’s (Game Of Thrones‘ Kristian Nairn) Divine-esque drag persona, and the arrival of the great Minnie Driver’s Anne Bonney, one of history’s most infamous female pirates.
So, if you’re not caught up, that ship hasn’t sailed quite yet—you have plenty of time to watch season one before Our Flag Means Death returns to Max on October 5.
