Earning a 100% Fresh status on Rotten Tomatoesputs high audience expectations on a movie or TV show, and Amazon Prime Video’sFleabagfully clears them. Created, written by, and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the two-season comedy-drama is based on her one-woman show of the same name that premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013.
Waller-Bridge’s titular protagonist is only ever called Fleabag, and the show follows her as she navigates her complex familial relationships (Olivia Colman is particularly brilliant as Fleabag’s snide stepmother), messy dating life, and her all-consuming grief underneath it all. ThoughWaller-Bridge’s filmography includes many great movies and shows,Fleabagis what made her a star.
In addition to its critical acclaim,Fleabagcleaned up at awards ceremonies.Its beloved second season saw Waller-Bridge winning a hat trick of three Primetime Emmys— for Outstanding Comedy Series, Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and Writing for a Comedy Series. With this much hype, many are surprised thatFleabagis only two seasons, but at a tight 12 episodes, it’s note-perfect.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag Deserves To Be Seen By Everyone
Fleabag Is One Of The Most Complex Yet Hilarious Characters In TV History
Shows about young, attractive people living and loving in a big city —Fleabagis set in London — may seem like a dime a dozen, butFleabagsets itself apart immediately. For starters, Waller-Bridge’s character constantly breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience and making us feel that we’re navigating her life right along with her.
DID YOU KNOW:“Fleabag” is also the nickname Phoebe Waller-Bridge wasgiven by her family(viaIMDb).
Fleabag makes a lot of questionable choices, but by viewers being totally inside her head, we more often than not understand them, even if they’re things we wouldn’t do ourselves.We feel the raw honesty of who Fleabag is, whereas if the fourth wall was up between us and her, it would be so much easier to judge, or even flat-out dislike her.
Thanks to our intimacy with Fleabag and that razor-sharp humor the show exudes, we’re still empathetic to her even when we learn a damning secret at the end ofFleabagseason 1. For her unflichingly authentic portrayal of a woman struggling to find and forgive herself,Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag deserves to be uttered in the same breath as TV comedy icons like Carrie Bradshaw or Lucy Ricardo.
Andrew Scott’s Hot Priest Made Fleabag Season 2 A Masterpiece
His Chemistry With Waller-Bridge Is Electric
As phenomenal asFleabagseason 1 was, season 2 was undeniable, unadulterated TV perfection. Whereas season 1 saw Fleabag date and sleep with a roster of incredibly mediocre men, none of whom deserved her,she met her match in season 2 with Andrew Scott’s Hot Priest.
ThoughScott is best known asSherlockvillain Moriarty, he’s even better as a romantic lead. Hot Priest is witty, kind, and open-minded yet just as flawed and lost as the show’s heroine, albeit in a very different way. He also not onlysees Fleabag for exactly who she is— as proven in one of the show’s most beautiful scenes — but loves her for it.
Of course, given that he’s a celibate priest, this complicates his relationship with Fleabag. Forbidden love is a hugely popular romance trope for a reason, but it falls flat if there’s no chemistry between the leads. Fortunately,Waller-Bridge and Scott’s white-hot chemistry radiates off the screen, and it’s impossible not to root for them, even as your own heart is breaking along with theirs.
Why Fleabag Ended After Only 2 Seasons
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Felt Like Fleabag’s Story Was Complete
Given how celebrated the show was amongst critics and awards voting bodies, it seems odd thatFleabagwould end after just two seasons. However, the reasoning behind the show’s seemingly premature conclusion is simple:Waller-Bridge believed Fleabag had reached the end of her journey.
With the help of Hot Priest, but also through her own self-discovery and exploration, she was finally able to forgive herself. Waller-Bridge is right — her story is complete.
“I feel like it’s done,” she toldThe Hollywood Reporter, and went on to discuss Fleabag’s arc, going from a woman who “sort of hated herself” to “someone believing that she could love again.” With the help of Hot Priest, but also through her own self-discovery and exploration, she was finally able to forgive herself. Waller-Bridge is right — her story is complete.
At least… for now. WhileFleabaghad the perfect ending, and a season 3 would risk marring the show’s legacy,Waller-Bridge did share a “fantasy of bringing her back” several years later, when she’s in her mid-forties or fifties. A revival could be genius, as Fleabag would likely continue to grow following season 2, but also have a whole host of problems she hadn’t encountered yet.
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Fleabagconcluded in 2019, when Waller-Bridge was 34 years old. Now in 2025, she’s 40. This means that if she still harbored dreams of bringing her beloved heroine back to life, it could happen in as early as five years. Of course, this may be a pipe dream for usFleabagfans, but we can always still keep enjoying one of the greatest comedy series of all time.
