What helped Our Flag Means Death become the top new series in America?
by Jaskiran Kaur | Mon, 04 Apr 2022 18:23:49 GMT
Our Flag Means Death is the 11th top series of all time in America; Credits: TV Insider

Pirates have taken over the American TV screens as per the HBO Maxs series Our Flag Means Death. The series has become the 11th most popular series in America of all time while maintaining the top position for a while now. 

Our Flag Means Death follows the tales of a peculiar pirate company, all bringing much to their portrayal, breaking stereotypes, and introducing new levels of hilarity into the show. 

Our Flag Means Death managed to run as the top new series in the United States for the past one hundred days, with the final episode of the first season finishing premiering last week. 11th most show both around the globe, and in the US, the series broke the myth that successful shows need to emerge from popular franchises or fanbases. 

However, Taika Waititi's filmmaking direction also helped the odds of the series as he is initially connected with exceptional comic shows like What We Do in the Shadows. The series was based on a 2013 film featuring the same name. 

The filmmaker has now bid adieu to What We Do in the Shadows, and his providing is a brilliant take on show making for the creation of Our Flag Means Death. In fact, he also plays an onscreen role in the series, breathing excellence into the character of pirate Blackbeard. 

The actor has been on the top of the world with the series, achieving an esteemed position in the US entertainment industry. In a recent clever post on Twitter, he revealed the news of Our Flag Means Death being the top new series in the US for the time and called it a "tragic turn of events." Proving the worth of the series are the Business Insider's streaming statistics that he linked with his tweet. 

The Business Insider's media outlet has praised series creator David Jenkin's refined take on mainstream stories but in a more inclusive sense. It is safe to say that the series has done great work in portraying queer stories and breaking toxic masculinity stereotypes. 

The audience is well appreciative of the queer romance presented in the show, which naturally focuses on queer intimacy rather than utilizing a few token gay characters for the sake of inclusivity. A prime example of it is the major plot constructing a relationship between Waititi's character Blackbeard, and the series' lead Stede Bonnet, played by Rhys Darby

However, Our Flag Means Death has come to an end of its first season, and there has been no talk of renewing it for a second season. But given the overwhelming statistics of the audience reaction and love that the show received, it would be great to see the show continue for a second telling. 

Not only did the show garner great favor with the viewers, but also managed to appease the critics and scored an impressive 89% critics approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience rating stands at a solid 94%. 

Our Flag Means Death owes its great success to a story that does not show pirates as bloodthirsty savage men. In fact, it is more of a consolation for men who have been victimized and have been struggling with the harmful tradition of toxic masculinity. 

While the show is absolutely hilarious and will keep you guffawing, you will also see it tackle many sensitive issues like providing authenticity to the process of gender identification, and of course representing the queer community. On the side, it also discusses the power of love as a means of betterment and an agency that helps in bettering and acknowledging oneself as they are. 

If you thought that all pirates are just sea savages with giant masculine egos, the series shows you that too. But it focuses on how the same perception can hurt young boys who think their only option is to be brutal and violent if they are to be accepted as men. 

Blackbeard himself struggles with facing his identity and is on the brink of sanity as he tries to figure things out for himself. The rest of the characters also have some or other message to add to the narration, and it is astonishing to see them talk of it all in understandably clear subjects. 

Piracy is used as a clever metaphor in the series, with Blackbeard working to be as pirate-like as he could be. But only later does he meet Stede and the latter understands that building oneself as tough also does not spare your emotions and that you still have to fit into what others might expect of you. 

Not only do the two completely shift what piracy has meant for the culture until now, but they also explored a beautiful romantic relationship with each other. The two give hope to the gay couple Black Pete, played by Matthew Maher, and Lucius, played by Nathan Foad

Jim, played by Vico Ortiz, understands that they longer wish to be seen as a man and take on a non-binary identity for themselves. 

Our Flag Means Death is available to stream on HBO Max. 

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