Season 2 of the excessive seas romantic comedy, ‘Our Flag Means Demise’, is because of set sail on BBC2 from subsequent Monday, February 5. It’s a bittersweet return for the present, with the information earlier this month that the US streamer, HBO/MAX, had determined to not proceed the sequence, regardless of showrunner David Jenkins having all the time stated OFMD required 3 seasons to finish its full story.

The primary focus of ‘Our Flag Means Demise’ is on the love story between Barbadian landowner-come-Gentleman Pirate, Stede Bonnet, performed by Rhys Darby, and Ed Educate, aka the dread pirate Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). It portrays not only a romance between two males, however two middle-aged males – certainly one of whom is indigenous, and reveals that love is feasible for everybody, no matter who we’re, or what stage we’re at in life. The present is understood for its optimistic illustration and inclusivity. It expands this illustration past the tales and into the solid and crew as nicely, with not simply members of the queer neighborhood represented but additionally Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, of all ages, sizes, and genders. Additional to that is the inclusion of accent, with every actor allowed to carry out in their very own accent. It’s a delight to listen to worldwide accents represented, from international locations comparable to Aotearoa New Zealand, Samoa, Scotland, Northern Eire, and Puerto Rico, in addition to England and the US.

‘Our Flag Means Demise’ has been met with unimaginable acclaim, and season 1 noticed it nominated for 3 Dorian TV Awards, 5 Gold Derby TV Awards, 3 Hollywood Critics Tv Affiliation Awards, a GLAAD Media Award, A Ray Bradbury Award, and a Peabody Award. Moreover the present received for ‘Excellence in Manufacturing Design for a Half Hour Single-Digital camera Tv Collection’ within the Artwork Administrators Guild Awards for manufacturing designer, Ra Vincent, and ‘Greatest Interval and/or Character Hair Styling’ on the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards for Margarita Pidgeon, Stacy Bisel, Kate Loftis, and Christopher Enlow.

Season 2 has thus far garnered one other ADGA nomination for Ra Vincent in the identical class, and a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Greatest Comedy Collection.

The brand new season was launched within the US in October final 12 months, with keen followers leaping on board after a 19 month wait to search out out if Stede managed to reunite along with his one real love, Ed. MAX appeared eager to advertise the present, launching billboards in New York’s Occasions Sq., and on Los Angeles’ Sundown Strip. Moreover their social media promotion was fairly good, even when they tended to spoiler the episodes earlier than they have been launched.

Evidently, this was all very encouraging for followers of the present, the majority of whom come from throughout the LGBTQAI+ neighborhood. Views of season 1 had elevated exponentially, and when season 2 dropped on October 5, it quickly outpaced demand for different HBO MAX returning seasons, comparable to season 3 of ‘The Righteous Gem stones’, and season 3 of ‘Succession’. ‘Our Flag Means Demise’ has scored a whopping 94% total score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 95% common viewers rating, and a mean score of seven.8/10 per episode on IMDb. Even now, 3 months because the launch of the ultimate episode, season 2 remains to be among the many streamer’s finest score reveals. All appeared good for season 3, with solid and crew posting behind the scenes content material from the earlier season, and the phrase on the road was that the brand new season had been greenlit, and pre-production was underway, with filming in Aotearoa New Zealand booked in Could this 12 months. Information of the present’s cancellation on January 9 was subsequently obtained with shock, and precipitated numerous articles popping up everywhere in the globe.

Unsurprisingly, the followers of ‘Our Flag Means Demise’ took the cancellation arduous. However identical to Stede, the grief was shortly changed with dedication to get their man (present) again. A fan-led group, ‘Renew As A Crew‘, started a petition on the finish of August to advertise the necessity for a 3rd season. Whereas it had been going robust, with 17,508 signatures as of January 10, it actually picked up the tempo from there on after, with, at time of writing, an outstanding 82,493 signatures, and no signal of stopping anytime quickly.

This isn’t all followers have finished to win again their present. Elevating greater than $21,000 in a few hours, they spent $10,000 on a billboard on Occasions Sq., New York, over 19 and 20 January, in addition to a truck, with a neon signal, and an aeroplane towing a banner behind it, each sporting the maxim, “Save Our Flag Means Demise”, in Los Angeles. The remaining $11,000 has been divided between the charities Human Enchantment, Mermaids, Taller Salud, and Rainbow Youth (additional to this followers have raised one thing within the space of $103,000 for charity, donating for instance to Palestine, Ukraine, queer charities world wide, UK charity Limb Energy, and the Maori Indigenous Schooling Fund, amongst many many others).

Moreover, followers have flooded Max’s social media, cellphone traces and buyer suggestions inboxes, and even faxes, with the one specification that it’s finished a la Stede Bonnet type: with well mannered menace, and killing with kindness. It stays to be seen if the efforts are in useless; nonetheless, it’s not unprecedented for cancelled reveals to be reinstated, and the main focus has moved on from asking MAX to resume, and as a substitute, asking different streaming corporations to take it on board. The indicators are definitely encouraging, and the present’s reputation stays robust, each within the US and world wide.

The primary season of ‘Our Flag Means Demise’ didn’t make its strategy to UK till January final 12 months, a full 10 months after its US premiere. This time round we’ve solely needed to wait 4 months for our beloved pirates to return, which is unquestionably a superb signal that season 2 will likewise be obtained nicely on these shores. Moreover, season 1 of ‘Our Flag Means Demise’ was nonetheless the ninth hottest digital unique within the UK in December final 12 months, so it definitely appears to point that season 2 ought to comply with go well with. Our job isn’t minimize and dried nevertheless – fairly it’s solely about to start.

Followers within the US, and people international locations with entry HBO MAX (in addition to Binge in Australia and Neon in Aotearoa), have been working arduous to make sure their voices are heard, and have been streaming each seasons of the present continuous. Lastly, we within the UK can be a part of the combat. It’s necessary to recollect we’re not simply doing this so we are able to watch one other season of our favorite present. We’re doing this for all the opposite favorite reveals which have been cancelled, and people that are nonetheless in danger – whether or not at present broadcast or but to be made. We’re doing this for the solid and crew and writers, most of whom have simply come off the lengthy writers and actors strikes, and who thought that they had a big block of labor assured for this 12 months. We’re doing this for Aotearoa New Zealand, which depends on the movie and tv business for an excellent chunk of their tourism. The New Zealand Movie Fee (NZFC) and Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) partnered with MAX on season 2, as a part of the New Zealand Display Manufacturing Grant (NZSPG) 5% uplift they usually have been set to do the identical for season 3. Most of the solid and crew are from that nation, and OFMD supplied many work alternatives for extras, in addition to the knock-on impact on the tourism, hospitality and lodging industries.

Should you’ve not watched season 1 of ‘Our Flag Means Demise’ but, it’s out there on BBC iPlayer right here. Season 2 will be a part of it on February 5, and the present shall be broadcast on BBC2 on Monday nights from that date, at 10pm in England, Wales, and Scotland, and 11:15pm in Northern Eire.

Learn our story about season 1 of ‘Our Flag Means Demise’ right here.

Signal the petition to avoid wasting ‘Our Flag Means Demise’ right here.

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