Phoebe Waller Bridge in “Fleabag”. (Photo: BBC/Amazon Studios)
Fleabag
Do you like your comedy about broken, unlikable people? Do you want to watch what is essentially the comedy Miranda, but if it were done by John Paul Sartre? Well, then Fleabag is probably for you.
The show is adapted from Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman play of the same name, which won the Fringe First Award in 2013. And it is bleak and bitter and depressing and should not work at all. Yet it somehow also turns out to be ferocious, funny, and very original. You don’t like everyone (or maybe anyone), but you’ll definitely laugh.
The story follows the titular character – “Fleabag” is a nickname – through various everyday life occurrences. She runs a café that’s not making much money. Her boyfriend keeps leaving her. She copes by having a string of meaningless sexual encounters with awful people. Her relationships with her family are predictably difficult. No one in this story seems happy, but the show finds humor in increasingly uncomfortable or dark situations. And Fleabag’s interesting habit of frequently breaking the fourth wall and directly addressing the audience adds a feeling of intimacy that helps make the series feel real.
Number of Seasons: 1
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime