‘Unhinged – in a good way’: Our Flag Means Death was cancelled. Its fans are fighting back
In 2019 a woman named Emperial Young went on an eight-day hunger strike outside the Netflix building in New York, protesting against the streaming giant’s decision to cancel the cult hit TV show The OA.
“Entertainment is food for the human soul and Netflix’s algorithm isn’t measuring that right now,” Young told Insider. “And by not taking physical food, I’m saying that this show is more important food to me than actual food.”
Fan campaigns to renew cancelled shows are nothing new. From the outcry after the cancellation of the cult sci-fi cowboy show Firefly to the incredibly successful mission to fund a Veronica Mars movie, fandoms have often rallied around the shows they love, and attempted to keep them alive. But going on hunger strike? These aren’t your grandparents’ fandoms any more.
These groups have got far more organised and creative – like the incredibly passionate fandom behind Our Flag Means Death, who are now settling in for a fight.
After two seasons, the queer pirate romcom starring Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby was cancelled by HBO’s Max this month – and its fans quickly mobilised. They raised more than US$21,000 for the campaign, which was used to purchase a billboard in Times Square and have a plane fly over Hollywood with a banner reading “Save Our Flag Means Death”. They also flooded Max’s social media, phone lines and customer feedback inboxes en masse, and launched a petition that has just under 80,000 signatures at time of writing.
Eloise M is a copywriter from Sydney who is using her marketing and communications background to help the campaign, known as Renew as a Crew. A large portion of the campaign revolves around finding a new streamer to give the show a home, and she advises fellow fans how to engage with streamers and brands online.
Along with raising funds for their campaign, Renew as a Crew has also raised money for charity, with A$25,821 going to RainbowYOUTH in New Zealand (where the second season was filmed), and A$15,174 being sent to Care for Gaza. “It’s been great to be involved in, not just to see everyone’s dedication, but how creative and hilarious some community members are in their tactics, which span from ‘respectful and sincere’ to ‘fairly unhinged’ – in a good way,” Eloise M says.
Our Flag Means Death is the latest in a spree of cancellations happening in the streaming world. In 2023 alone cancelled shows included Disney+’s Willow, Netflix’s Shadow and Bone and
Mindhunter, Paramount’s Star Trek: Prodigy and Max’s Gossip Girl, to name just a handful. “It’s a shame because TV shows just aren’t given the time, season lengths and breathing room to establish themselves and their fanbases in this environment,” Eloise M says.
The OA was a precursor in 2019; that same year, Netflix’s Anne With an E was cancelled after three seasons – and its fans mobilised accordingly. “Our petition (as far as I know) remains the biggest fan-made petition to renew a show, ever – something we are still proud of,” says Lisa E, who was instrumental in the campaign to save the cult favourite.
“It started the moment the cancellation was announced. We trended very quickly on Twitter that day, I think we amassed something like 1m tweets in a matter of hours, with over 13m tweets sent to Netflix and CBC in the first week.”
There have been some success stories from these campaigns. In 2018 the cop sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine was saved by NBC a day after it was cancelled by Fox, amid huge outcry. The sci-fi show Sense8 was given a twohour feature finale after a passionate campaign. The Sapphic favourite Warrior Nun is returning as a trilogy of films, thanks to its fans.
But it doesn’t always work. Anne With an E fans used many of the same tricks as Our Flag Means Death, including buying billboards and social media strategies; they even had Ryan Reynolds tweeting his support. But they gave up in 2020.
“We threw our hands up and decided we were kicking a dead horse,” Lisa E says. “I think every fandom has a right to fight for what they love, even if it’s a battle they won’t win. Because oftentimes this leads to some great stuff – friendships, money raised for charities, etc. And hey, you never know, right?”
Butshe has a warning for people who are getting ready to fight for their favourite show. “Make sure this is worth the energy and time you’re about to spend,” she says. “The odds of your campaign being successful are probably zero, so if you’re willing to take that risk and go for it, then by all means go for it – but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
meets conspiracy theorists, impostors and football trolls and it’s fascinating to hear their reasoning. She also meets people who’ve been harmed by them. HV
The RavenWidely available, episodes weeklyWhen Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis (pictured above centre) and his entourage got into an altercation outside an Atlanta club after the 2000 Super Bowl, two men were stabbed to death. Although Lewis walked free after a double murder trial, questions still remain. Tim Livingston investigates what really happened – and asks who killed Richard Lollar and Jacinth Baker. HV
Tom Dean Medal MachineWidely available, episodes weeklyTeam GB swimmer and two-time Olympic champion Tom Dean (who, by the way, is only 23 years old) is attempting to win a record-breaking five gold medals at this year’s Olympics in Paris – and he’s making a podcast about it, as a sort of training diary. Dean will speak with the likes of Jessica Ennis-Hill and Jordan Stephens for top tips and inspiration. Hollie Richardson
There’s a podcast for that
This week, Rachel Aroesti chooses five of the best podcasts about interiors, from a guide to do-it-yourself decor to a wholesome dive into renovation dilemmas
The Great IndoorsMad About The House, in which journalist Kate Watson-Smyth drills down into the decor of beautiful rooms, the layouts of houses currently on the market and the aesthetic choices she’s made in her own home, is the best interiors blog on the internet. For this slightly giddy but incredibly insightful podcast, she teams up with Sophie Robinson – previously the resident designer on 60 Minute Makeover – to explore new trends and products, dole out advice and talk to major players in the industry, such as Farrow & Ball colour curator Joa Studholme and Henry Holland, who recently swapped the catwalk for the potter’s wheel.
Homing InAs co-founder of The Modern House, which sells stunning contemporary homes across the UK, and its period property-specialist sibling Inigo, Matt Gibberd has managed to do the unthinkable: make estate agency aspirational and cool. Now, he’s indulging his passion for exceptional houses in audio form with this podcast where he interviews famous guests about the story of their lives via the homes they’ve lived in, including their highly covetable current abodes, from chef Ruth Rogers’ cavernous Chelsea home designed by her late husband Richard to Mary Portas’s London townhouse on Paddington Bear’s road.
So, How Do You?Anyone partial to an Instagram interiors binge will probably be familiar with the work of Laura Jackson: the TV presenter turned design maven (she now runs online homeware store Glassette) who has spent the past few years sharing the spectacular transformation of her east London home with her followers. In this podcast, sheprovides a guiding hand to the fledgling renovator. Each episode is centred on a specific problem – how do you approach wallpaper? Design a kitchen? Choose a colour scheme? Decorate a rental? – which
Jackson (above) takes to two experts for a meaty, granular and highly practical look into the issue at hand.
Dear AliceYou may not think an interior design consultancy based in Utah would be a crucial port of call when it comes to renovation advice, but Dear Alice is a treasure trove. Hosted by Jessica Bennett, founder of the aforementioned Alice Lane, and her colleague Suzanne Hall, the show is a gentle, calming and very wholesome dive into decor dilemmas. Key guidance includes bypassing trends to tap into the interior fantasies you’ve held on to since childhood and a focus on “honest materials,” which means swerving things that pretend to be something they aren’t (wood-effect tiles, we’re talking about you).
Dark HouseLove hearing about spectacular houses, but mainly in the context of terrifying ghost stories and tragic deaths? You’re not alone. This series hosted by journalists Hadley Mendelsohn and Alyssa Fiorentino – who both work for US interiors glossy House Beautiful – fuses virtual tours of notorious American properties with retellings of the gruesome histories behind them and their often (quite literally) haunting legacies. Hear about the tunnels turned leisure complex that lies below the spooky St Louis mansion once occupied by the unfortunate Lemp family, the dilapidated grandeur of the infamous Grey Gardens and the spine-chilling story of the colonial farmhouse in Rhode Island which became the inspiration for The Conjuring.
For more interiors inspiration, sign up here to receive House to Home, the Guardian’s eight-week newsletter series packed with tips to brighten up your home – whatever your budget
Why not try …
In 2019, actor Sean Hayden collapsed on stage due to a panic attack, forcing him to confront his mental health crisis: a journey which he chronicles in Stage Combat: A Mental Health Story.
Reign of Error looks into James Dolan’s dysfunctional ownership of the most beloved sports teams on earth, the New York Knicks.
Scotland is gripped by a conspiracy theory that a cabal of gay judges threaten the justice system. A lawyer with a dark secret claims to have a list that possesses the truth in Shiny Bob: The Devil’s Advocate.
If you want to read the complete version of the newsletter please subscribe to receive Hear Here in your inbox every Thursday