A year ago, we fans of the queer pirate rom-com Our Flag Means Death were waiting on tenterhooks for any news of renewal for the sleeper hit. HBO Max (currently in the midst of an identity crisis, which, to be fair, happens to the best of us) waited until June 1 to announce that we’d be getting a second season—a form of Corporate Pride that I welcomed, as desperate as I was to see Ed and Stede and the rest of the zany crew on my screen again.
Now, fully ten months later, we are still waiting for any official word from Daddy Max (not a serious suggestion; dear lord, HBO, please don’t rebrand as that) on when season two will drop. In lieu of a trailer or any other announcement, I, along with the boatloads of people who fell in love with season one, have taken to scouring the internet for any scrap of information that could provide some insight into when my seafaring blorbos will come home from the war.
Well, that may be giving me too much credit. I let OTHER, more inventive people scour the internet for information, and then I read their tweets to stay up-to-date. But it FEELS like we’re all on the same investigative team, and I look forward to the day when I stumble across some detail that will help move the case forward.
In a world where fan-run Twitter accounts are giving me the only hints of content that I crave, I need to find some way to fill my time. So here’s what I’m doing while waiting for that trailer to drop.
There are already tons of amazing rec lists for pirate-adjacent literature out there, but here’s what I’m currently using to feed my obsession. First: I am working my way through the Aubrey–Maturin novels. You may know these stories from the Russell Crowe film Master & Commander. Yes, that film your dad has watched 50 times. Yes, I am your dad in this scenario. It’s a great flick! You know, just two guys, just great pals, just really…intimate…shipmates sailing along, doing boat stuff. You can’t help but imagine it inspired Taika Waititi’s performance at least a little bit. He’s also a fan.
When I want to fill my head with something explicitly queer, I’ve got that covered. Currently I am saving the audiobook of Gabe Cole Novoa’s The Wicked Bargain as a treat for a rainy day. (After all, who knows how long I’ll have to wait for that first episode of season two.) Not only is it a pirate romance featuring a Latinx transmasc nonbinary main character, but it’s narrated by Our Flag’s own Vico Ortiz. Put that voice directly into my ears, because I need it!
And lastly, I’ve been using this downtime between seasons to catch up on Rhys Darby’s entire filmography. The starring role of Stede Bonnet seems to be tailor-made for him, and his performance is a big reason why the show works. I’ve been a fan of Darby’s for a long time, although I admit I mostly categorized him as ‘that guy with the Kiwi accent who does some really decent voice work’ until I saw him in Our Flag. Luckily, I now have his decades-long career to revisit while I wait. His comedy chops are apparent in even the smallest role, but you really have not lived until you watch Darby fall for an injured duck in the 2011 romantic comedy Love Birds. (And you KNOW I love a rom-com.) Actually, with a cast as big and as talented as this, I could happily spend months digging through their backlists. I recently interrupted a viewing of Paddington 2 to point out a cameo by Joel Fry, Our Flag’s inimitable Frenchie, for example.
Yes, there is plenty to keep me occupied until season two comes. But I hope it comes before my remote control privileges are totally revoked.
(image: HBO Max)
TJ Alexander is an author of queer romance and could talk to you about birds for an uncomfortable amount of time. Their next novel Chef’s Choice (May 30, Atria/Simon & Schuster) is now available for preorder.
