Have You Caught Up to Amazon's "Fleabag"
Sunday, October 30, 2016 at 9:40AM Chris here. Of all of the season's new series, one that you certainly haven't been hearing enough about is Amazon's Fleabag. Debuting quietly around the time of the third season of Amazon's flagship Transparent, Fleabag deserves so much more than getting lost in the shuffle. Written by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the show is a scabrously funny and sad take on a London woman's coping through grief, sex, and being "a bad feminist". If all that sounds too familiar, you may not be prepared for the freshness and frankness of Waller-Bridge's voice.
As the titular Fleabag, Waller-Bridge is the classic comedy heroine that can't seem to get her shit together. Her business is failing, she's coping with the recent death of her mother and best friend, and she's just shy of financial destitution. Fleabag is always saying and doing the wrong thing, but her missteps more spontaneous instead of the slowmotion car crash you've seen from female depression comedies like Young Adult. She might even be your new favorite Woman Who Lies To Herself™.
Constantly breaking the fourth wall with hilarious one liners and side glances, Waller-Bridge is a smart and intelligent performer, one of the most agile new voices in comedy. The bawdy sex jokes and smaller character moments are handled with equal skill and often in equal measure - she's believably complex and contradictory in hilarious and sad ways. By season's end, she'll break your heart.
Fleabag also captures its tense family dynamics without judgey heteronomativity or oversimplified conflict resolutions. Olivia Colman (as if I haven't given you enough reasons to watch) is perfectly calibrated as the intellectually abusive stepmother without becoming a cliche of wickedness. As sister Claire, Sian Clifford quietly becomes equal to Waller-Bridges's tour-de-force as she delivers coldness and warmth with intuitive brilliance.
For all its boisterous flourishes and punchlines, Fleabag is ultimately a sharply observed and moving new comedy. The debut season's snappy six episodes make for a fast binge watch, but also a satisfyingly succinct one. While each episode is packed with character detail and unfolding backstory, there is no filler episodes that pad a season like you might see on even a stellar show like Transparent. There's magic in the brevity, but you'll still leave the sixth episode desperate for more Fleabag and more Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Reader Comments (5)
This has been the "next thing I'm gonna watch" (I've even had a tab with its Amazon page open in my browser) for several weeks. Thank for the nudge!
I've this twice over already! Utterly hilarious, but it also packs an emotional punch. Couldn't recommend it enough. It's also one of those shows in which every single member of the cast, from Waller-Bridge to the people in bit parts, are fantastic. See it!
This show is absolutely amazing. One of the best things on TV this year. I think a lot of people here would love it.
Paul - it doesn't help that Amazon isn't doing much promotion for it, but glad I could provide the nudge!
Yes! Loooooooove this one. Can't wait for more. I hope the Emmys take notice.