Why Fleabag won it all at the Emmys.

Fleabag. If you haven’t heard of it by now it’s the breakout British comedy making a name for itself with a flawless mix of lewd jokes, sordid content and fourth-wall-breaking glances.

Like the majority of people who watch TV shows nowadays, when I first discovered Fleabag I binge-watched the entire thing in the space of a weekend. I joined the Fleabag train for the suggestive jokes and glances but I stayed for the unexpected heartfelt moments.

You learn quickly in the show that Fleabag is struggling to come to terms with the loss of her best friend and handles her emotional turmoil by leaning into every unhealthy coping mechanism you could imagine. I spent 12 glorious episodes following her journey, laughing and crying in equal measures, and came away knowing I had found something special in Fleabag. But my experience was not out of the ordinary. 

I joined the Fleabag train for the suggestive jokes and glances but I stayed for the unexpected heartfelt moments.

Since making its debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe a mere four years ago, Fleabag has taken off on a whirlwind of success. Originally a one-woman show lasting 65 minutes, the concept has snowballed into the award-winning show it is today. On Monday 23 September Fleabag took home an impressive six Emmys from 11 nominations, including Best Comedy Series, making history as the first British TV show to ever win the category.

That isn’t to say there have never been other Emmy award-worthy UK shows before, but the show has a rule in place that non-US shows aren’t eligible unless they are co-produced by an American company. Thankfully for Fleabag, its second series managed to fit this criterion.

Originally airing in the UK on BBC 3, it was then picked up by streaming platform Amazon Prime for its second series, bringing the raunchy British comedy to an international audience. Fleabag already had a sizeable British fanbase after series one and its creator, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, had been hailed a comedic genius from critics and public alike.

What couldn’t have been expected was how successfully it would translate to an American audience. Typically British humour doesn’t always ‘land’ abroad, but something about Fleabag managed to resonate, propelling the deadpan comedy into legendary status.

This is the true beauty of Fleabag. As scandalous, hilarious or gut-wrenching as it gets you never fail to relate to the often messy human qualities presented through the characters.

It seems as if everything Waller-Bridge touches turns to entertainment gold as she is also to thank for the BBC America television series Killing Eve, starring Jodie Comer – who also won an Emmy this week – and Sandra Oh. Working as both writer and show-runner she helped to adapt the books into the iconic TV drama. 

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The show continues to receive such a glowing response in part due to Fleabag’s cutting wit, but also the unique approach Waller-Bridge has taken in telling her character’s stories. The character of Fleabag has always remained nameless, along with several other main characters, including the stepmother and Fleabag’s father.

Even the original stage production was stripped bare of any distractions with Phoebe Waller-Bridge sat alone on stage accompanied by the formless voices of other characters prerecorded beforehand. Waller-Bridge has explained she does this to maintain a sense of mystery. “I liked the idea of withholding some of that mystery.”

The result of this is the character’s qualities and actions also become more relatable to the audience. You find as you watch that even the most outrageous of situations become applicable to your own life. We all know someone as petty as the stepmother, or have as strained or complicated a parental relationship as Fleabag and her father.

This is the true beauty of Fleabag. As scandalous, hilarious or gut-wrenching as it gets you never fail to relate to the often messy human qualities presented through the characters. Fleabag could be anyone and everyone. One tweet to Waller-Bridge from a fan said, “I’m a disabled 42-year-old man living in Hull and I am Fleabag.” As Waller-Bridge says, “that’s always what I’m striving for … that people feel like it is a human story.”

But all good thing must come to an end as Waller-Bridge has confirmed the second series was its last, although she has mentioned that she would be open to returning to it when she’s 50. She admitted, “I quite like the idea of coming back to her — well, me — when I’m 50 because I feel like she would’ve had, you know, more life then, and God knows what she would’ve gotten up to.”

If 20 years feels like too long a time to wait for more Fleabag content don’t despair, it isn’t disappearing altogether. The stage production of the show is still being shown across the country and its creator isn’t leaving our screens completely either. Just 24 hours after the Emmys Waller-Bridge gained a brand new TV deal creating and producing content exclusively for Amazon Prime. So we can be sure to expect more bold and shameless comedy coming to our screens soon.