Taika Waititi's new pirate show Our Flag Means Death gets first trailer

The first trailer for Our Flag Means Death, the new pirate comedy series from Taika Waititi, has been released.

Set in the early 18th Century, Our Flag Means Death is loosely based on the true adventures of Stede Bonnet (played by Waititi's Flight of the Conchords collaborator Rhys Darby), a moderately wealthy landowner who suffers a midlife crisis and becomes captain of Revenge, a pirate ship. Waititi will play the infamous pirate Blackbeard in the series, as well as being an executive producer and directing the pilot.

The new teaser trailer gives us our first proper look at Bonnet's motley crew of pirates – expect a dysfunctional workplace comedy, but with more swords and swashbuckling. The show's ensemble cast also includes Game of Thrones' Kristian Nairn, Trainspotting's Ewen Bremner, James Bond's Rory Kinnear, and Cruella's Joel Fry, as well as recurring spots from comedians Fred Armisen and Leslie Jones.

Garrett Basch, whose previous projects include What We Do in the Shadows (the FX series based on Waititi's 2014 movie of the same name) and The Night Of starring Riz Ahmed, is also an executive producer. Meanwhile, David Jenkins is on board as showrunner – he previously helmed sci-fi comedy series People of Earth, about a support group for people who have been abducted by aliens.

Our Flag Means Death doesn't have a release date for its HBO Max premiere yet. While we wait for the series to arrive on our screens, check out our list of the best TV shows of 2021.

TOPICS
CATEGORIES
Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
Creature Commandos episode 2 screenshot
6 new movies and shows to watch this weekend on Netflix, Prime, Disney Plus, and more (Jan 10 - 12)
Creature Commandos episode 2 screenshot
6 new movies and shows to watch this weekend on Netflix, Prime, Disney Plus, and more (Dec 13-15)
Freaky Tales
Pedro Pascal seeks revenge in the first trailer for bloody new horror movie from Marvel directors
Jenna Ortega as Ridley in A24's new horror comedy Death of a Unicorn
Marvel's Paul Rudd and Wednesday's Jenna Ortega fight off a murderous unicorn in zany first trailer for new A24 horror comedy
Creature Commandos
How many episodes are in Creature Commandos on Max?
John Cena as Peacemaker in Peacemaker season 1
Peacemaker season 2: Everything we know so far about James Gunn's returning DC series
Latest in Comedy Shows
Ronald Gladden and James Marsden in Jury Duty
This Amazon hidden gem with a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes audience score has been renewed for season 2 – and it's already been filmed in secret
Blue Mountain State
15 years on, Reacher star Alan Ritchson reveals that a sequel series to his cult sitcom is in the works
Twisted Metal
First trailer for Twisted Metal season 2 starring Anthony Mackie teases the wildest character from the video game yet
Hilary Swank in The Next Karate Kid
Cobra Kai showrunners explain why that fan-favorite Karate Kid franchise actor didn’t show up in the final season: "Our hope is that there’s more Karate Kid stories in the future"
Cobra Kai
Ralph Macchio explains how the emotional, nostalgic ending of Cobra Kai is a perfect send-off for the franchise: "It's a big, fat, warm embrace and in a world that isn't always warm and embracing"
Cobra Kai
Cobra Kai showrunners talk that emotional finale, explain explosive ending for the Karate Kid franchise’s two biggest villains: "We thought that was the most dramatic way to go out"
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip