Despite the breakout success of season 1, it took WB a hot minute to renew “Our Flag Means Death” (which it eventually did on the first day of Pride Month 2022, a performative and more than a little bit condescending act of allyship if there ever was one). And even then, it was only brought back for a shortened second season — one in which Jenkins was forced to slash the show’s budget by as much as 40 percent (per The Wall Street Journal), much of which was only possible through tax credits and other savings after production moved from Los Angeles to New Zealand.
Clearly recognizing that season 3 would be a long shot, Jenkins opted to bring some closure to Ed and Stede’s tumultuous romance at the end of season 2 (along with other major plot threads), all while still leaving just enough room for their story to possibly continue. It’s a good thing he did, too, as I can only imagine the (deserved) furious anger the “Our Flag Means Death” fanbase would reign down on Zaslav’s head if he had canceled the show after a cliffhanger ending … not that they won’t do that anyway. Meanwhile, at least we still have those first two precious seasons to treasure, now that “OFMD” has joined the likes of “Los Espookys” on the list of delightfully strange, queer Max shows that were too weird to live and too rare to die.
“Our Flag Means Death” seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Max.