Taika Waititi’s new HBO Max pirate show has a great title: Our Flag Means Death. Also, can HBO interest you in a rapping vampire show called Thirst?
You want to hear a good television show title? Our Flag Means Death. There, you’ve got it. That’s the name of the new HBO Max show written by David Jenkins and executive produced by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi.
The New Zealander already has fingers in plenty of streaming pies; he’s directed episodes of The Mandalorian on Disney+, has signed a deal with Netflix to make two versions of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and now he’s getting cozy with WarnerMedia’s flagship streamer.
Jenkins may be a less familiar name, with his most notable project being People of Earth, which ran for two seasons on TBS and was executive produced by Conan O’Brien and Greg Daniels. And now he’s got an Oscar winner by his side for this upcoming comedic tale somewhat based on the life and times of Stede Bonnet, a “pampered aristocrat who abandoned his life of privilege to become a pirate.”
As it stands, Waititi will direct the first episode. His What We Do in the Shadows collaborator Garret Basch will have an executive producer credit. Dan Halsted, who produced Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides as well as Jenkins’ People of Earth, is also on board.
“A series concept like this jumps off the page and you can instantly envision every moment,” said HBO Max head of original content Sarah Aubrey. “David and Taika’s unique take on Bonnet’s rollicking misadventures on the high seas are sure to thrill and delight audiences everywhere.”
As of yet, there’s no indication as to how many episodes will be in the first season, nor whether it will come out before Waititi’s adaptation of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits for Paramount Television. The man is very busy.
And if that’s not enough to convince you that HBO means business, it’s also developing Thirst, about an up-and-coming Atlanta rapper who joins one of the biggest groups on the scene…only to find out that they’re a vampire family who’ve been around for hundreds of years.
It sounds like something that might happen on Waititi’s own What We Do In The Shadows on FX.
The show comes from Empire writers Leah Benavides Rodriguez and Carlito Rodriguez. “Music has been integral to both our lives, and Thirst is the perfect opportunity to blend genres, while exploring the intersection of fame, culture and what it means to be American,” they said, per Variety. “We’re excited to bring it to life with Macro Television Studios and the rest of our dope team, and thrilled it has found its home at HBO.”
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h/t The A.V. Club