--- title: "Fleabag" year: 2016 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/fleabag" fi1m_score: 90 critics_score: 88 critics_reviews: 12 published: "2026-09-17T03:19:01.366192+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T03:19:15.288300+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Fleabag (2016) Created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge · MPA TV-MA · Comedy, Drama **Fi1m score: 90** · Critics 88 from 12 reviews *In a sentence:* Twelve episodes of a woman telling us everything and telling everyone she actually knows nothing at all > Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s two-series comedy about a grieving woman who confides in the camera is rude, exact and built to last. The first series is harsher and occasionally coarse for its own sake; the second is as good as half-hour television gets. ## Synopsis London, and a young woman we know only as Fleabag (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) is not coping. She runs a small café she opened with her best friend Boo (Jenny Rainsford), who is now dead and appears only in flashes of memory. The café has almost no customers and the loan is due. Her sister Claire (Sian Clifford) has the job, the husband and the house, and can barely be in the same room as her. Their father has a new partner the sisters cannot stand. Fleabag fills the gaps with men she does not much like, among them a stranger from a bus she christens Arsehole Guy (Ben Aldridge), and with us: she turns to the camera mid-conversation, mid-sex, mid-funeral, and tells us what she is actually thinking. ## Review *Fleabag* is about a woman in London who has lost her best friend, is losing her café, cannot talk to her sister and sleeps with men she dislikes, and who deals with all of it by turning to us and making a joke. Phoebe Waller-Bridge created it, wrote every episode and plays the lead, and the whole thing rests on one device: she looks into the camera and tells us the truth, and nobody else on screen can hear her. There are two series of six episodes, the first from 2016 and the second from 2019, and they are different enough in temper that we will take them in turn. Our verdict first. We would tell a stranger to watch it, which is not something we say often. The first series is the rawer of the two, quicker to reach for a filthy line when a quiet one would do, and there are a couple of episodes where the shocks come before the point does. The second series has no such problem. It is written with the confidence of someone who knows exactly how long a look can be held, and we did not find a wasted minute in it. The look to camera is the thing everyone talks about, and it works because of how it is cut. Gary Dollner, the editor, gives the asides almost no room: a glance, a word, back to the scene before the other person has finished their sentence. The same speed is used for Boo. Jenny Rainsford turns up in flashes half a second long, laughing in the café, and then is gone, and the show never announces that these are memories or explains what they mean. Harry Bradbeer and Tim Kirkby, the directors, keep the camera close to Waller-Bridge’s face throughout, so we are watching her decide what to tell us and what to keep. That is where the series got at us. For a while the asides are simply funny, and we laughed at them the way you laugh at a friend being unkind about a party. Then there is a moment, late in the first series, when she turns to us and has nothing to say, and we felt caught out, as if we had been enjoying a confession without noticing what was being confessed. The reason is on screen: Waller-Bridge plays the pause exactly as long as the jokes before it, and the silence lands in the space where a punchline should be. Sian Clifford is the other reason it works. Claire is the sister who has done everything right and is furious about it, and Clifford plays her as a woman holding herself together with posture alone; the scenes between the two of them, in kitchens and toilets and the backs of cars, are the best in either series. Ben Aldridge, as the man Fleabag names Arsehole Guy, is a running joke that keeps turning into something sadder. And in the second series Andrew Scott arrives as a priest, of all things, and the show becomes a love story without softening. He is the only person in twelve episodes who seems able to see all of her, and what the series does with that is something we will not describe. There are faults. The gross-out material in the first series has dated faster than the rest, partly because so many other comedies have since borrowed the tone. A few of the supporting men are drawn with a single line and asked to stand there. And the device, brilliant as it is, means that Fleabag is the only person we ever truly know; everyone else exists as she sees them, which is the point, and also a limit the show cannot get past. It carries a 15 certificate, earned mostly in the first ten minutes of the first episode. If you can get through those without switching off, stay; the second series is the reward, and it is a considerable one. *Fi1m score 90, published 17 September 2026.* ### Reviews we read (12) - **The Telegraph** (5/5): The series is hailed as a gloriously rude, filthy and funny update on confessional singleton comedies like Bridget Jones, blending gross-out gags with touching explorations of grief, loneliness and dysfunction, anchored by Waller-Bridge’s impeccable timing and expressive performance. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/0/fleabag-a-gloriously-rude-update-of-bridget-joness-diary--review/) - **The Times**, Andrew Billen (★★★★★): The review calls Fleabag a minor masterpiece that grows stronger with each episode, revealing its core as a story of grief and truth-telling rather than mere bad behaviour, with excellent performances including from Hugh Dennis. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/fleabag-the-lie-detector-m89c9jw37) - **IndieWire**, Ben Travers (90/100, inferred): Phoebe Waller-Bridge's series is a sharply funny and deeply felt comedy about a woman in crisis. It stands out for its incendiary take on modern life and strong central performance. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/fleabag-review-amazon-phoebe-waller-bridge-comedy-crisis-in-six-scenes-1201727259/) - **The AV Club**, Lisa Weidenfeld (A-): Fleabag is a wonderfully funny yet melancholy comedy about a chaotic woman dealing with loss and isolation. It excels through its magnetic lead performance, fourth-wall breaks, and efficient use of flashbacks to reveal deeper emotional truths. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/fleabag-enters-the-pantheon-of-melancholy-comedy-1798188775) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Tim Goodman (90/100, inferred): The critic describes the series as exceptionally creative and wonderful, noting the intoxicating mix of humor and sadness in the lead performance and its distinctive new voice on television. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/fleabag-tv-review-929720/) - **Radio Times**, Kasia Delgado (85/100, inferred): The critic calls the series an unflinching and clever look at tricky youth and self-destruction, highlighting its addictive blend of hilarity and bleakness along with the lead's direct-to-camera asides that create intimacy. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/fleabag-is-an-unflinching-clever-look-at-tricky-youth-terrible-sex-and-self-destruction/) - **The Guardian** (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the series a bleak but riveting portrait of defeated, unlikable characters navigating grief, dysfunction and self-loathing through sharp, bitter humour and strong performances, especially from Waller-Bridge. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/05/fleabag-a-hilarious-sitcom-about-terrible-people-and-broken-lives) - **Vulture** (85/100, inferred): The series feels unique on TV for its singular first-person perspective and fourth-wall-shattering asides that make the protagonist's inner life immediate and personal. It balances crass humor with a powerful portrait of grief and the need for connection. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2016/09/fleabag-amazon-different-from-anything-else-on-tv.html) - **The i Paper**, Daisy Wyatt (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the series delightfully daring and praises its razor-sharp script and deadpan wit, comparing it favorably to Catastrophe while noting its deeper emotional undercurrents about grief and failure. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/bbc3-comedy-fleabag-delightfully-daring-18747) - **Variety**, Maureen Ryan (80/100, inferred): The critic praises how the series impresses in its debut season by unpacking the protagonist's need for validation through sex and revealing unexpected depth and power in its later episodes, ultimately revealing itself as a tragedy beneath the comedy. [Read](https://variety.com/2016/tv/reviews/review-one-mississippi-fleabag-1201848343/) - **Paste**, Shannon M. Houston (90/100, inferred): The critic hails Fleabag as a revelatory series that masterfully blends grief, sex, and sisterhood into a bold comedy that challenges the patriarchy. She singles out the emotional depth of the sister relationship and a standout episode involving family mourning and intimate revelations. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/fleabag/grief-sex-sisterhood-fleabag-is-a-revelation) - **The Ringer**, Allison P. Davis (80/100, inferred): The critic finds that Fleabag's direct address to the audience works exceptionally well, providing insight into the character's inner life that other shows lack. She singles out the honest, unfiltered monologues that make vile behavior understandable and keep the audience on the character's side. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2016/09/22/tv/breaking-the-fourth-wall-on-fleabag-b85eb4ac198f) ## Details - **Created by:** Phoebe Waller-Bridge - **Creator:** Phoebe Waller-Bridge - **Director:** Harry Bradbeer, Tim Kirkby - **Writer:** Phoebe Waller-Bridge - **Editor:** Gary Dollner - **Producer:** Lydia Hampson, Sarah Hammond - **Cast:** Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Fleabag; Sian Clifford as Claire; Jenny Rainsford as Boo; Andrew Scott as The Priest; Sean Richards-Mulzac as Young Man; Tree Waller-Bridge as Lecturer; Sarah Daykin as Drunk Girl; Jordan Long as Taxi Driver - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA - **Release (the US):** 21 July 2016 - **Genres:** Comedy, Drama - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX2ViKQFL_k ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: streaming - Amazon Prime Video: free - Amazon Prime Video: buy, sd - Apple TV: buy, sd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Golden Globes 2020: Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (won); Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (won) - Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy 2020: Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (won) - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film 2020: Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (won) - Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy 2020: Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (won) - Primetime Emmy Awards 2019: Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series (won); Outstanding Comedy Series (won); Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (won); Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (won); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (won); Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (won) - BAFTA Television Awards 2017: Best Female Comedy Performance (won) ## If you liked this - *Catastrophe* (2015): Two people who should not be together, written with the same unkind honesty - *I May Destroy You* (2020), Fi1m 88: A London comedy about damage that refuses to let the audience off the hook — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/i-may-destroy-you.md) - *Alfie* (1966): The original charming Londoner who talks to camera and tells everyone else lies - *Please Like Me* (2013): Australian comedy about grief and bad decisions, gentler in tone, just as exact - *Frances Ha* (2012), Fi1m 82: A woman losing her best friend to adulthood, shot in black and white — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/frances-ha.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/fleabag