''Fleabag'' is a British

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series created and written by

Phoebe Waller-Bridge Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge (born 14 July 1985) is an English actress, screenwriter and producer. As the creator, writer, and lead star of the comedy series '' Fleabag'' (2016–2019), she won various accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Aw ...

, based on her one-woman show first performed in 2013 at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

. The series was produced by Two Brothers Pictures for digital channel

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

, in a co-production agreement with

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

. Waller-Bridge stars as the title character, a free-spirited but angry and confused young woman living in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Sian Clifford co-stars as Fleabag's sister Claire, with Andrew Scott joining in the second season; most of the show's main characters are never named, including Waller-Bridge's and Scott's. The protagonist frequently breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...

, providing exposition, internal monologues, and running commentary to the audience. The show premiered on 21 July 2016 and concluded its second and final series on 8 April 2019. It received widespread acclaim from critics, particularly for its writing, acting, and the uniqueness and personality of the title character. Many critics and viewers have called it one of the greatest comedy series of all time as well as one of the greatest television series of all time. Waller-Bridge won the

British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance The British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance was instituted in 2009. It is awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, ...

for the first series, with the second series earning her

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series; additional nominations include acting categories received by Clifford,

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...

, and guest stars Fiona Shaw and Kristin Scott Thomas. The series received the

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

for Best Television Series and Best Actress for Waller-Bridge, and a

nomination Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In ...

for Scott.

Background

The show is adapted from Waller-Bridge's 2013

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

one-woman play of the same name which won a Fringe First Award. The initial idea of the character of Fleabag came from a challenge by a friend, where Waller-Bridge was given the task of creating a sketch for a 10-minute section in a stand-up storytelling night.

Cast and characters

Main

as "Fleabag" * Sian Clifford as Claire, Fleabag's sister with whom she shares an uneasy relationship * Andrew Scott as the priest (series 2), with whom Fleabag falls in love

Supporting

* Ben Aldridge as Arsehole Guy (series 1; guest series 2), one of Fleabag's love interests, so named for his taste for

anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and pelvic thrusting, thrusting of the Erection, erect human penis, penis into a person's Human anus, anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex inform ...

* Hugh Skinner as Harry, Fleabag's on-off boyfriend then eventual ex *

Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show ''Mock the Week'' (2005–2022) and is one half ...

as Bank Manager (series 1; guest series 2), approached by Fleabag for a loan * Jenny Rainsford as Boo, Fleabag's deceased best friend and business partner * Bill Paterson as Fleabag and Claire's father *

as Fleabag and Claire's godmother, who began a relationship with their father not long after their mother's death and eventually becomes their stepmother *

Brett Gelman Brett Gelman (born October 6, 1976) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Murray Bauman in Netflix's horror-supernatural series ''Stranger Things'' and as Martin in the BBC comedy '' Fleabag''. Gelman began his care ...

as Martin, Claire's aggressive alcoholic husband

Guest

* Jamie Demetriou as Bus Rodent (series 1), one of Fleabag's love interests * Fiona Shaw as Fleabag's counsellor (series 2) * Jo Martin as Pam (series 2), who works at the priest's church * Ray Fearon as Hot Misogynist (series 2), who serves as Fleabag's lawyer and one of her love interests * Angus Imrie as Jake (series 2), Martin's teenage son and Claire's stepson * Kristin Scott Thomas as Belinda (series 2), a successful businesswoman who meets Fleabag at an awards ceremony presented by Claire * Jenny Robbins as Lesley (series 2), Claire's co-worker * Christian Hillborg as Klare (series 2), Claire's Finnish business partner and love interest

Episodes

Series 1 (2016)

Series 2 (2019)

Distribution and broadcast

Fleabag at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2013

BBC Three was the original broadcast channel for the show with a repeat run broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

between 21 August and 25 September 2016. The second series was broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

at the same time as being released on BBC Three, by this time only available online. It was picked up by the on-demand

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

(formerly Amazon Video) service and premiered in the United States on 16 September 2016. ''Fleabag'' is also available on IFC in the US. In the Netherlands, it was picked up by

Net5 Net5 is a Dutch free-to-air, free-to-cable commercial television channel, TV channel and is part of Talpa TV, formerly a part of SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are SBS6, Ver ...

. The show has been remade for French television by Jeanne Herry. Titled (French for 'fly', the insect), it started airing on 3 June 2019 on pay channel Canal+. ''Mouche'' is a close remake, though set in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with

Camille Cottin Camille Cottin (; born 1 December 1978) is a French actress and comedian. Following her debut as a stage actress, she became known in 2013 for playing a capricious Parisian woman in the Canal+ (French TV channel), Canal+ hidden camera-sketches s ...

in the starring role.

Production

Filming

Filming took place in and around

, mostly North West and Central with the primary location being

Dartmouth Park Dartmouth Park is a district of north west London in the London Borough of Camden, north of Charing Cross. The area adjoins Highgate and Highgate Cemetery (to the north) and Kentish Town (to the south). Parliament Hill, London, Parliament Hill ...

, North West London. Street scenes were filmed on five main roads in the area, including Southampton Road, Laurier Road, Croftdown Road, Highgate Road, and York Rise. Other locations include

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, Hampton Hill,

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

Tufnell Park Tufnell Park is an area in north London, England, in the London boroughs of London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Camden, Camden. The neighbourhood is served by Tufnell Park tube station on the Northern Line. History ...

Belsize Park Belsize Park is a residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, in the Inner London, inner North West London, north-west of London, England. The residential streets are lined with Georgian and Victorian villas and mews houses. ...

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath. Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...

Parliament Hill Fields Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the List of highest points in London, highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of L ...

Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is located in Holborn and is the List of city squares by size, largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a ...

and

Finsbury Square Finsbury Square is a square in Finsbury in central London which includes a six-rink grass bowling green. It was developed in 1777 on the site of a previous area of green space to the north of the City of London known as Finsbury Fields, in the p ...

. Bold Cafe & Restaurant in

was used for Fleabag's Guinea Pig Cafe. The graveyard that Fleabag jogs through daily is

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

Kensal Green Kensal Green, also known as Kensal Rise, is an area in north-west London, and along with Kensal Town, it forms part of the northern section of North Kensington, London, North Kensington. It lies north of the canal in the London Borough of Brent ...

. The feminist lecture was at the Lecture Theatre in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton (property developer), James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Mus ...

. The silent retreat that Fleabag and Claire attend on mother's day was filmed at Hedsor House in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. Dad and Stepmother's house was on Cambridge Park Road in

. Stepmother's sexhibition was held at the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befo ...

. The second series premiered with a family dinner party filmed at the American steakhouse, Smith & Wollensky in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

. Hot Priest's church was the Romanian orthodox and former anglican church St. Andrew's in

Neasden Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 (Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Brent Reserv ...

. Claire's penthouse office was filmed from

Heron Tower Salesforce Tower, 110 Bishopsgate (formerly known as, Heron Tower) is a commercial skyscraper in London. It stands tall including its mast making it the second tallest building in the City of London financial district and the fifth List of ta ...

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

. The funeral in series two was filmed at St Dunstan and All Saints Church in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

. The hair salon was 137 – Taylor and Taylor in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

. Series one was filmed from April to May 2016 and released from July to August 2016 and series two was filmed from August to September 2018 and released from March to April 2019.

Music

Waller-Bridge's sister, Isobel Waller-Bridge, composed the music for both series.

Reception

Critical response

Both series of ''Fleabag'' received widespread acclaim from television critics. At review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, both series received approval ratings of 100%. The first series received an average rating of 8.5/10, based on 42 reviews, with the site's critical consensus reading: "Clever and viciously funny, ''Fleabag'' is a touching, wildly inventive comedy about a complicated young woman navigating the aftermath of trauma." The second series received an average rating of 9.3/10, based on 99 reviews, with the critical consensus stating: "''Fleabag'' jumps back into the fray with a bracing second season that upholds its predecessor's frenzied wit and delicate heart, replete with Phoebe Waller-Bridge's indefatigable charisma". At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the first series received a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 88 out of 100, based on 19 critics, while the second series received a score of 96, based on 21 critics, both signifying "universal acclaim".

Emily Nussbaum Emily Nussbaum (born February 20, 1966) is an American television critic. She served as the television critic for ''The New Yorker'' from 2011 until 2019. In 2016, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Early life Nussbaum was born in the ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' described the first series as "a precision black-humour mechanism, a warped and affecting fable about one single woman's existence." Maureen Ryan at '' Variety'' called it "scathingly funny", concluding that "long after it's pulled you in with its irreverence and jokes about sex, and beguiled you with its cutting wit and messily human characters, it reveals that it's actually a tragedy". Hank Stuever of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' characterised it as a "funny, highly profane but surprisingly poignant dramedy". Mike Hale in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised the show for its "restless, almost feral energy and its slap-in-the-face attitude." Mary McNamara of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' commended its unpredictability, acting, and "clear eye for truth that often becomes, like all good comedy, quite devastating". The second series received unanimous acclaim and was considered a cultural phenomenon. Serena Davies of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' lauded the second series as "a near-perfect work of art".

Mary Elizabeth Williams Mary Elizabeth Williams is an American writer and commentator. She is a staff writer for the online magazine ''Salon''. She has also written for ''The New York Times'', ''The Nation'', and other publications. As a commentator, she has made appeara ...

of ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

'' praised its "brilliant swan song", finding the series's conclusion satisfying and "well-earned". For ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'',

Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...

wrote that the "tragicomic masterpiece reaches new heights in its second outing". James Poniewozik of ''The New York Times'' wrote that "the new season feels immediately confident, if inevitably less groundbreaking. Yet it continues to push its form". Hannah Jane Parkinson of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described the conclusion as "the most electrifying, devastating TV in years," writing of the second series that "it seems as though many who either did not watch the first series, or who didn't think it lived up to the hype, have been converted". According to Metacritic's aggregate of decade-end lists, ''Fleabag'' was the second-highest ranked show of the 2010s. It has since been considered by multiple publications to be one of the greatest television series of all time. Former United States President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

named the second season of ''Fleabag'' among his favourite films and television series of 2019. In his annual list, which he released on Twitter on 29 December 2019, he added a small addendum with the title, "and a quick list of TV shows that I considered as powerful as movies: ''Fleabag: Season 2'', '' Unbelievable'', and ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

''."

Accolades

Home media

References

External links

* * {{Amazon Video original series 2016 British television series debuts 2019 British television series endings 2010s British black comedy television series 2010s British comedy-drama television series Amazon Prime Video original programming British English-language television shows BBC comedy-drama television shows BBC Three (streaming service) original programming Television shows about casual sex Fictional characters who break the fourth wall Metafictional television series Plays for one performer Self-reflexive television Television series about sisters Television series based on plays Television series created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge Television shows set in London Television series about grief Television series by All3Media Television series by BBC Studios Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series winners Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series