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New queer pirate show ‘Our Flag Means Death’ is Bear-rific!

Kyle Jackson

Is a mainstream television allowed to have this many Bears on TV at once? Seriously, we don’t think we’ve ever seen this before. That’s what possibly makes Our Flag Means Death, as Out Magazine puts it, “The best queer show on TV right now.”

Created by David Jenkins, Our Flag Means Death is a historical pirate comedy on HBO Max. Based very loosely on the real-life adventures of Stede Bonnet, a nobleman who left his life of comfort to become a self-declared “Gentleman Pirate”, the comedy is definitely unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

The show stars Rhys Darby as Stede supported by a diverse pirate crew that includes Nathan Foad as Lucius, Samson Kayo as Oluwande, Vico Ortiz as Jim, along with Joel Fry, Matthew Maher, Kristian Nairn, Samba Shutte, Nat Faxon, and Ewen Bremner.

If it doesn’t sound too queer yet, don’t worry. After giving the series a watch, it will become clear that this isn’t just some regular heterosexual pirate crew. A lot of the show’s plot revolves around the romance between Suede and Pirate Blackbeard, portrayed by Taika Waititi, supported by a very eccentric supporting cast who are not shy about their queerness.

Photo courtesy of HBO Max.
Photo courtesy of HBO Max.
Photo courtesy of HBO Max.

The show isn’t just being praised for its queer representation. The diversity of the show has been praised by various media outlets for its representation of people of color as “heroes and winners.” This is the type of thing we love to see!

All ten episodes of the first season of Our Flag Means Death are available to stream on HBO Max now!

Kyle Jackson

Kyle Jackson (He/Him) is Senior Staff Writer at Gray Jones Media, and additionally works as a writer, editor and theatre artist/actor. A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, he studied at Dillard University, received a BA in Theatre from Morgan State University, an MS in Arts Administration from Drexel University, and completed the British American Drama Academy’s Midsummer in Oxford Programme in 2017. Having lived in Baltimore, the Washington, DC area, Philadelphia and New York City, he now resides and works in London, United Kingdom.

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