Max Cancels Beloved Comedy Series After Two Seasons

Max has cancelled one of the most beloved comedy series on the platform. After two seasons on the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer, Our Flag Means Death is no more. The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter who shared a statement from Max. Despite widespread critical and fan acclaim for David Jenkins' little pirate show that could. Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi's characters dominated social media chatter for parts of the pandemic. It's been a wild couple of years for the Oscar-winning director as a lot of his projects have come to a close. Waititi's Reservation Dogs just wrapped last year and What We Do In Shadows is primed for a finale. Countless fans are going to be sad about Our Flag Means Death.

"While Max will not be moving forward with a third season of Our Flag Means Death, we are so proud of the joyous, hilarious, and heartfelt stories that creator David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, Rhys Darby, Garrett Basch, Dan Halsted, Adam Stein, Antoine Douaihy, and the entire superb cast and crew brought to life," a Max spokesperson told THR. "We also thank the dedicated fans who embraced these stories and built a gorgeous, inclusive community surrounding the show."

Our Flag Means Death Was Really Popular

Fans online were very antsy in the lead-up to Our Flag Means Death Season 2. HBO had announced production, but there were long stretches without any updates. Whenever asked about the show on social media, executive producer Taika Waititi sounded just as out of the loop as the fans were. Finally, word came down of a Season 2 and there was a rush of relief on social media. Now, that tone has shifted a lot.

"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," series creator David Jenkins said back when the  the second season was. "Thanks to our team at HBO Max, our invested executive producers, and our wildly enthusiastic audience for making another voyage to this world possible."

"We are so happy to bring this truly one-of-a-kind series back! We congratulate David, Taika, Rhys and the entire talented cast and crew, and thank the show's fans for embracing it wholeheartedly," Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content at HBO Max mentioned.

Trying To Make The Dream Work

However, making the series was a massive labor of love for the people involved. Over the course of the pandemic, the show has had to film and make the best of tight deadlines. Waititi spoke to Hype magazine about balancing his time on Thor: Love and Thunder and Our Flag Means Death. They managed it, but not without some serious concessions between the creative team and the stars.

"This is one of the rare occasions where I didn't put myself in my own thing; someone else asked me to do it," Waititi explained. "David Jenkins wrote Blackbeard with me in mind and, at first, I was just too busy to do it. But with some shuffling of schedules, we were able to do it, which was great because I really wanted to play the role. I would have been really bummed out if I had missed out on it." 

Waititi added, "I was Blackbeard by day and then was editing Thor by night and doing various other things. I was trying to work from set with the shaggy hair and the beard. It was a management nightmare, but we pulled it off and it was probably one of my favorite roles that I've played because it's something I didn't have to write so I could bring a lot of myself to it."

Are you sad the show isn't coming back? Let us know in the comments!