The past month or so for me has been defined by two things: finally catching COVID (would not recommend) and watching the fandom around HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death blossom on social media (would absolutely recommend). The delightful pirate rom-com has now been the most streamed breakout series in the US for five weeks in a row. This comes after the show’s season one finale, and while a new freaking Marvel series is dominating other corners of pop culture internet. And yet, this past month has had another, less fun trend: HBO Max’s continued failure to renew the series, for reasons unknown to the cast, crew, and fanbase (also referred to as the “crew”) alike.
In a new interview with TheWrap, creator and showrunner David Jenkins shared that he still has no idea what’s happening with show’s renewal. “Yeah, no news on that. It’s hard because of the analytics. And HBO Max. And then, you know, HBO Max has gone through a lot. They’ve got this huge merger. People get scared for their jobs, rightfully so. And then their metrics are their own, they don’t really share. They don’t really share their viewership data even with us. It’s pretty unclear what’s going to happen.” During this period of uncertainty, Jenkins has had to sit with the possibility the show might not be renewed. He continued on later in the interview, “But it is on some level like amazing that they let us do this. And if they decide not to do it, it’s going to be a bummer … But ultimately at the end of the day, ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ “
Show business is a cruel and fickle beast. That fickleness is often hardest on the creatives who poured their souls into a project which they don’t consider finished, but which they no longer have full control over the fate of. There’s no question that the entire cast and crew of Our Flag Means Death want to come back for a second season. Still, if these quotes filled you with fear, panic, and dread, you’re not alone. So Jenkins took to Twitter to assure the show’s fanbase that the dream is not dead. “No one’s giving up,” he tweeted. “And for the record, I’ll be more than disappointed. We all will. So let’s try and avoid that.”
It’s not like HBO Max hasn’t renewed any series recently. As we’ve discussed before on this site, … And Just Like That was renewed in March, and The Gilded Age in February. However, those are admittedly before HBO’s parent company, WarnerMedia, finished a huge merger with Discovery in early April. Jenkins’ fears of the merger affecting Our Flag Means Death are, unfortunately, valid. There has been carnage elsewhere in the company’s alarmingly large umbrella. For example, both TNT and TBS will no longer develop scripted content—an announcement that immediately resulted in massive layoffs. Adam Conover, whose show Adam Ruins Everything was canceled due when WarnerMedia merged with AT&T three years ago, points out: “TNT and TBS made scripted television with great success since 1989 — over 30 years… The ONLY reason these healthy broadcasters are committing suicide is because of a needless merger that only benefitted the wealthy.”
What can be more American than the wealthy winning out at the expense of everyone else? So far, the only known merger impact on HBO Max is that it will merge with Discovery Plus. How this will alter HBO Max’s programming remains to be seen—and how it will impact the price of the streaming service. One worries the new company will focus on “traditionally safe” IPs (heavy quotes there: more Game Of Thrones? HARD pass, thanks) instead of investing in newer, original ideas. Then again, Our Flag Means Death is a huge hit. Its budget isn’t bonkers—on the contrary, it’s quite cost-effective. So, in short, what the hell?!
Personally, I have half a mind to buy a flight to New York City and picket outside HBO Max’s headquarters. Our Flag Means Death has inspired people to come out as LQBTQ+, to embrace being fully themselves, to start making art again for the first time after the trauma of the pandemic. Hell, it’s inspired people to make beautiful orange cakes. It’s special enough to fight for.
Over 75 “Roach’s 40 Orange Glaze” cakes were baked this weekend and I’m delighted by the talent, creativity & joy you all spark✨🍊🍰🤩 I hope they brighten up your days as much as they have mine🧡 This has to be some kind of record: scurvy be gone!🍊🏴☠️ #OurFlagMeansDeath #hbomax pic.twitter.com/Z0lzYN3HgA
— Samba Schutte (@sambaschutte) April 25, 2022
(Image credit: HBO Max)
