June 1 (UPI) — Network HBO is renewing the comedy Our Flag Means Death for a second season, the company said in a release issued by Warner Media Wednesday.
The show’s first season debuted in March and was loosely based on the true adventures of 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet, played by New Zealand actor and comedian Rhys Darby.
“After trading in the seemingly charmed life of a gentleman for one of a swashbuckling buccaneer, Stede became captain of the pirate ship Revenge. Struggling to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, Stede’s fortunes changed after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard, played by (Taika) Waititi. 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,” Warner said of the show’s plot.
Darby is well known for comedic roles on both the big and small screen. He appears in the television show Flight of the Conchords and on the silver screen in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
In a March interview, the 48-year-old said it was challenging to play the role of Bonnet in the show.
“He’s so complicated. How did he get away with what he did, and why would anyone follow or believe him? He’s a dreamer and a risk taker, and I could relate to that,” Darby told UPI at the time.
The show has generally gotten positive reviews, with an audience score of 95% on review site Rotten Tomatoes.
“Our Flag Means Death’s gentle sensibility doesn’t quite strike comedic gold, but its bemusing band of buccaneers are endearing enough that viewers seeking a comforting watch will find bountiful booty,” reads the site’s synopsis.
But not all critics give it that level of praise.
“Even with a skilled comedic actor such as Darby at the helm, though, there’s only so much mileage they can get out of the soft jokes he’s given in these first few chapters, which struggle to land any punchlines beyond the most obvious about the sheer absurdity of a foppish bookworm trying to be a pirate,” Variety’s Caroline Framke wrote in March, while praising Darby’s individual performance and that of co-star Taika Waititi.
“Our Flag Means Death finds a new spark of inspiration, in no small part thanks to Waititi’s casual charisma and the surprisingly charged chemistry between him and Darby as their characters grow closer.”
The network has not announced a date for the start of the second season.
“We felt the show was special while we were making it, but fans’ open-armed embrace of the inhabitants of the Revenge makes heading into a second season all the more sweet. Thanks to our team at HBO Max, our invested executive producers, and our wildly enthusiastic audience for making another voyage to this world possible,” showrunner and creator David Jenkins said in a news release.
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