Fans of the brilliant pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death are eagerly awaiting the arrival of season two on Max. It’s me—I’m fans. Ever since the first season dropped in 2022 and dealt a mortal blow to queerbaiting as we knew it on TV, I’ve been counting the days until we could reunite with Taika Waititi’s Blackbeard, Rhys Darby’s Stede Bonnet, and the rest of their motley crews. We know that season 2 sets sail on October 5th, 2023. But most pressing in my mind: what time can we actually tune in to catch our favorite pirates in action? Let’s dive into the exact time the new season debuts on Max.
What we know about Our Flag Means Death’s season 2 schedule
Season 2 hits (formerly HBO) Max on October 5th, 2023. We’ll be getting three whole episodes that first day, which should tide us over for at least a little while. After that, Max will air two new episodes of OFMD every Thursday in October, culminating in the season finale on Thursday, October 26th, 2023. That’s prime spooky season—I wonder if we could be getting a Halloween-themed episode, or at least a skeleton or two hung in chains…
Season 2’s official logline is quite a wonderful tease: “To their surprise, the wildly different Stede and Blackbeard found more than friendship on the high seas…they found love. Now, they have to survive it.”
So what time can we see this unique love story / action-adventure / comedy-drama play out again?
Based on Max’s past release schedule for the show and communications from the Max press team, Our Flag Means Death season two will be available to watch at 3:01 a.m. Eastern on October 5th, 2023. That means 12:01 a.m. Pacific, 2 a.m. Central, and 8:01 a.m. if you’re in the UK. Of course, sometimes networks like to surprise us with early or surprise drops, so it’s possible the show could appear at a different time—but this is when we’re planning to tune in.
These timeslots can make for some tricky viewing, especially for Americans and Europeans. Diehard fans (it’s me again) will need to wait up either very late at night to catch the first episodes or wake up early and take the day off work. I’m not telling you to take the day off of work in order to watch new episodes of Our Flag Means Death, but I’m not not telling you that. There are luckier viewers in other regions of the world: if you’re in the Philippines, say, the show debuts at 3:01 p.m., and it’s prime viewing time, 6:01 p.m., in Australia.
Because streamers tend to follow the same release patterns, it’s likely that episodes will continue to air weekly at the same times. However, if this changes, we’ll be sure to update you here.
Who will be starring in Our Flag Means Death season two?
Most of season one’s cast is making a return. According to Warner Bros. Discovery’s press release:
In addition to Darby and Waititi, season two stars returning cast members Samson Kayo, Vico Ortiz, Ewen Bremner, Joel Fry, Matthew Maher, Kristian Nairn, Con O’Neill, David Fane, Samba Schutte, Nat Faxon, and Leslie Jones. New additions joining the ensemble cast include recurring guest stars Ruibo Qian, Madeleine Sami, Anapela Polataivao, and Erroll Shand, and guest stars Minnie Driver and Bronson Pinchot.
Rumors are abounding that the inimitable Rachel House (Thor: Ragnarok, Foundation) will appear on the show as the infamous pirate Mary Read, and there’s the ongoing tease about the “death” of fan-favorite character Lucius Spriggs. Actor Nathan Foad hasn’t been included in the teasers, and cast and crew joke about his mortality, but we’d bet our big toes that he’s still alive. In the meantime, you can check out our review of OFMD season two, watch the trailer again, gaze upon some Izzy Hands fanart, and follow our ongoing pirate-oriented coverage.
Time to set your alarms for 3 a.m. ET / 12 a.m. PT on October 5th, 2023 for Our Flag Means Death season 2’s premiere (plus two more episodes) on Max. See you there, bright and early and bleary-eyed.
(images: Max)
