Fleabag is a British comedy television series set in London. It was produced by Two Brothers Pictures for digital channel BBC Three and in a co-production agreement with Amazon Studios. The show premiered on 21 July 2016. Phoebe Waller-Bridge writes and stars as the main character, Fleabag, a young woman attempting to navigate modern life in London in the aftermath of trauma. There are two seasons of the show.
Background[]
This show is adapted from Waller-Bridge's 2013 Edinburgh one-woman play of the same name which won the Fringe First Award. The initial idea of the character of Fleabag came from a challenge by a friend, where Waller-Bridge was tasked with creating a sketch for a 10-minute section in a stand-up storytelling night.
Cast[]
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Fleabag
- Hugh Skinner as Harry
- Sian Clifford as Claire
- Brett Gelman as Martin
- Bill Paterson as Dad
- Olivia Colman as Godmother
- Ben Aldridge as Arsehole Guy
- Jamie Demetriou as Bus Rodent
- Jenny Rainsford as Boo
- Hugh Dennis as Bank Manager
- Andrew Scott as The Priest
- Ray Fearon as Hot Misogynist
Waller-Bridge's sister composed the music and her mother appears in a cameo as the lecturer during the feminist talk in the first episode.
Distribution and broadcast[]
Following the initial release on BBC Three the series was broadcast on BBC Two between 21 August and 25 September 2016. It was picked up by the on-demand Amazon Video service and premiered in the United States on 16 September 2016.
Critical reception[]
Fleabag has received positive reviews. Metacritic gave it an 88 score, with Emily Nussbaum from The New Yorker calling it "a precision black-humor mechanism, a warped and affecting fable about one single woman’s existence." Mo Ryan at Variety calls it scathingly funny. Mike Hale in The New York Times praises the show for its "restless, almost feral energy and its slap-in-the-face attitude." Tim Goodman from The Hollywood Reporter sees the show as "heralding a very distinctive new voice on television." Alan Sepinwall from HitFix describes the show as "something achingly beautiful."