Don't come for me, but I don't really like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I thought the series had scarred me from enjoying any pirate-themed media for life, but then I watched Our Flag Means Death, and it very much shivered me timbers.
Broadcast on Max in the US and on the BBC in the UK, the show officially won't be returning for a third season, but those of us in Blighty are still waiting on a release date for season 2!
Starring Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi (is there anything the man can't do?) , Our Flag Means Death is a hybrid of sitcom and romcom. Primarily it's an incredibly silly tale of life on the high seas. Darby plays Steed Bonnet (a real-life figure), a well-to-do aristocrat who, sick of everyday life, ditches home comforts (well slightly, he does still have a library on board) to become the "Gentleman Pirate".
Of course, pirates aren't exactly known for their culture, and the crew that Steed hires are fairly cheap and agricultural types so there's a serious culture clash. After learning the ropes, he and the crew eventually run into the famed Edward 'Blackbeard' Kenway (Waititi) and things take an unexpected turn.
This is definitely on the sillier side of seafaring but that's what makes it so sweet. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94% from both critics and audiences, I won't be the only one to miss it. The supporting cast is excellent too and UK viewers in particular will be pleasantly surprised to see the likes of Joel Fry, Guz Khan and Rory Kinnear pop up in a big-budget American show.
Waititi is also Executive Producer on the series, and his trademark humour is laced within creator David Jenkins' scripts. The Kiwi writer/actor/director is also wrapping up his excellent vampire comedy series on Disney+, What We Do in the Shadows, but that has had six series to find its feet.
