Pop culture has always made one thing clear about being a pirate. It’s a hard, dirty, ugly life. But why? Must it always be rags and riches? What would happen if you added some class and elegance to piracy? The answer—at least according to the first full teaser for HBO Max‘s upcoming comedy series Our Flag Means Death—is that you might not find a whole lot of gold. But you could find a whole lot of comedy. Especially when Flight of the Conchords‘ Rhys Darby stars as the unlikeliest pirate to ever sail the seven seas and his friend Taika Waititi plays history’s most infamous.
Finally, the terrifying ocean is about to get a lot fancier. And also a lot sillier. Not that we’d expect anything less from a show starring the man who made the phrase “band meeting” so funny. Here’s the official synopsis for the series:
Our Flag Means Death is loosely based on the true adventures of Stede Bonnet (Darby), a pampered aristocrat who abandons his life of privilege to become a pirate. The series also stars Academy Award winner Taika Waititi as Blackbeard, history’s most feared and revered pirate.
We’re not sure which clone of Taika Waititi, Hollywood’s busiest man, is technically starring on this show. It’s probably not the one directing Thor: Love and Thunder. But ultimately it shouldn’t matter. They all do great work.
The series, inspired by the early 18th century’s Bonnet, also stars: Ewen Bremner, David Fane, Nat Faxon, Nathan Foad, Joel Fry, Leslie Jones, Samson Kayo, Guz Khan, Rory Kinnear, Matt Maher, Kristian Nairn, Con O’Neill, Vico Ortiz, Samba Schutte, and Fred Armisen. Waititi also serves as an executive producer. Along with series creator and showrunner David Jenkins, Garrett Basch, and Dan Halsted.
With that crew piracy might not be any less bloody. But it will definitely be a lot funnier.
