Last year's first season of Our Flag Means Death unfurled a big surprise. Made for HBO Max in the US and picked up by the BBC, it was a pirate comedy loosely based on 18th-century pirate history. It starred Kiwi comedy chums Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi as pirate captains Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard. The former was the bored aristocrat-turned-swanky swashbuckler who ran his ship with an oddly empathetic management style. The latter - a rare lead acting role for Waititi, who usually just cameos in his films - was the hirsute psycho of the high seas.
The two were set sailing on a collision course. One was sure to wind up on the end of the other's cutlass ... except well, surprise, they fell not on their swords but for each other.
After a shaky start in which a voluble Darby chewed up too much of the scenery, the left-field love story made the show into something of a gay nautical Blackadder.
This story is from the September 30 - October 6 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
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This story is from the September 30 - October 6 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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