After debuting as a one-woman show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013, Phoebe Waller-Bridge's masterpiece Fleabag ran for two successful years in London before being adapted as a two-season Amazon series. While we were distraught to learn there wouldn't be a third season, we a.) respect Waller-Bridge's decision and b.) have a bunch of other similar shows queued up on our laptops. Here, seven shows like Fleabag to watch if you just couldn't get enough of the hit series.
7 Shows Like ‘Fleabag’ to Add to Your Netflix (and Hulu) Queue
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Published Feb 19, 2020
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1. ‘killing Eve’
Sure, Killing Eve has a whole lot more murder than Fleabag, but Waller-Bridge's fingerprints are all over it (she's an executive producer and was the head writer for season one, after all). This British spy thriller is about M16 agent Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and her complicated relationship with prolific assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). It's darkly funny, the costuming is incredible and it features a stellar supporting cast including Harry Potter's Fiona Shaw as the head of Eve's M16 division and Kim Bodnia as Villanelle's sometimes handler. Oh, and season three is coming this spring.
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2. ‘atlanta’
Atlanta creator and star Donald Glover is a pal of Waller-Bridge's (watch his sweet tribute to her at last year's BAFTAs here), and the two even worked together on Solo: A Star Wars Story. The former's show is about two cousins navigating the Atlanta rap scene to improve their lives and the lives of their families. Like Fleabag, it's intensely funny while also tackling seriously dramatic stuff and Glover—like Waller-Bridge—frequently breaks the fourth wall.
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3. ‘crashing’
Waller-Bridge's first show (which she created, wrote and starred in), Crashing, follows the lives of six twenty-somethings living together as property guardians in a disused hospital, keeping the building safe in exchange for cheaper rent. Not only is it a delightful watch, it's also cool to see the creation of the Phoebe Waller-Bridge cinematic universe.
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4. ‘chewing Gum’
Michaela Coel wrote and stars in this British sitcom about 24-year-old shop assistant Tracey, a restricted, religious virgin, who wants to have sex and learn more about the world. While the whole religious virgin thing is a far cry from Fleabag, the two protagonists are flawed and funny (and they both break the fourth wall). Also, Chewing Gum similarly began as a one-woman show.
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5. ‘derry Girls’
In this show set in Northern Ireland in the '90s, the ladies of Derry Girls are almost like younger sisters to Waller-Bridge's Fleabag. Messy and rebellious and irreverent about religion, Erin, Orla, Clare and Michelle are among the most lovable main characters we've seen in ages. Oh yeah, there's also a hot priest.
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6. ‘sex Education’
What do Fleabag and Sex Education have in common? Aside from being set in the U.K., they're both hugely concerned with sex and all the drama and comedy that surrounds it. This Netflix comedy is about Otis, the high school-aged son of a sex therapist and his friends, who set up their own sex advice business. The series was recently renewed for a third season, so there's never been a better time to catch up on the first two.
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7. ‘russian Doll’
Like Fleabag, Russian Doll rests on the blazered shoulders of a flawed (but awesome) female lead. In the latter's case, it's Natasha Lyonne, whose Nadia is a game developer who repeatedly dies and relives the same night in an ongoing time loop while trying to figure out why.
