If you're anything like me, you almost fell out of your seat when you saw Fleabag was coming to RTE. I have wanted to watch this series for an AGE ever since I saw a clip of it way back in 2017.
And now, the much-acclaimed and multi award-winning comedy drama is coming to RTE2 and RTE Player on Monday 1st February! Created and written by the incomparable Phoebe Waller-Bridge and starring Jenny Rainsford, Olivia Colman, and Andrew Scott, this show was rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, so my expectations are sky high.
The story follows Fleabag, an angry and hilarious young woman trying to navigate life in London while still reeling from a personal tragedy. The series - based on an award winning play - is poignant, witty and sexual as Fleabag careens from one person to another to stay afloat in this crazy world.
The black comic writing has Waller-Bridge's trademark zany humour, featuring some intense and witty fourth wall breaking, which makes for an almost uncomfortably up-close and personal experience. Waller-Bridge's creation was originally performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of a one-woman play (classic), after a friend dared her to create a character for a sketch for a 10-minute section in a stand-up storytelling night.
The British character is sexually free but weighed down by grief, anger and confusion at how her life is turning out. With a similar mildly chaotic, brutally honest vibe as her other original series, 'Crashing', Fleabag premiered on the 21st of July 2016 and concluded with the finale of the second season on the 8th of April 2019.
A roaring success, Waller-Bridge won the British Academy Television Award forBest Female Comedy Performance in season one and the second season racked up an enormous eleven nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards. She ended up winning six of them, including the prestigious Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Her star-studded cast also received additional nominations, with Coleman, Clifford and guest star Fiona Shaw all receiving acting nominations. The series went on to also receive the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series, with Waller-Bridge once again receiving Best Actress.
A graduate of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, the thirty five year old has had a fairly illustrious career since then. Appearing in series such as Bad Education and Broadchurch, she got her real 'in' with her playwriting, with 'Crashing' adapted for screen by Channel Four, which Waller-Bridge subsequently starred in and then 'Fleabag', adapted by BBC3. Since then, her career path has only diversified further, leading to her take roles in the 2018 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' as Droid L3-37 and 'The Iron Lady', producing and acting as show runner for the critically acclaimed series 'Killing Eve', and has recently co-written the latest Bond script 'No Time to Die'. Phew! Anyone else feeling a little inadequate?
