‘Fleabag’ Season 3 Still Not Moving Forward, Even After Emmys Dominance
Zack Sharf
Any “Fleabag” fan hoping the show’s surprise Emmys dominance might entice creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge to bring the show back for a third season will surely be disappointed. Speaking to press backstage at the 71st Emmy Awards (via the Los Angeles Times), Waller-Bridge said the show’s major Emmys victories were further proof that saying goodbye with the show’s second season is the right move.
“This just feels like the most beautiful, beautiful way to say goodbye to it,” Waller-Bridge said. “It does feel nice to go out on a high. You can’t get higher than this.”
Waller-Bridge also commented on the breakout success of her series, which aired in the U.S. on Amazon Prime. “Fleabag” picked up the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for its second season, a surprise win considering the favorites were either previous Emmy winner “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” or “Veep.” “Fleabag” won six Primetime Emmy Awards this year, including trophies for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy (Waller-Bridge), Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Waller-Bridge), and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Harry Bradbeer).
“It’s the word-of-mouth stuff that just kills me,” Waller-Bridge told the press. “Knowing people said, ‘I’ve told my friend and my friend told their friend and my whole family watches…’ That stuff is really special. The press has been so amazing and writing these incredible pieces on it. It did feel like a tidal wave, didn’t it, just suddenly hitting us all? And here, because it lands as one thing, one bingeable thing here — in the U.K., it’s spread out over six weeks — it landed and there was this explosion of response. There were kind of shockwaves to it.”
With “Fleabag” behind her (and multiple Emmy wins not changing that), Waller-Bridge’s next big release is the upcoming James Bond movie “No Time to Die.” Waller-Bridge was brought on to rewrite Neal Purvis and Robert Wade’s original script alongside director Cary Fukunaga and co-writer Scott Z. Burns. HBO has also given a series order to Waller-Bridge’s next television project “Run,” starring Merritt Weaver and Domhnall Gleeson. Both seasons of “Fleabag” are now streaming on Amazon Prime.
