Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Bafta-winning BBC comedy is coming back for a second series.
Fleabag became one of the most talked-about shows of 2016 when it launched, three years after it was performed as a one-woman show by its writer and star Waller-Bridge at the Edinburgh Fringe.
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Here’s everything you need to know about series two…
When is Fleabag series two on TV?
CONFIRMED: Fleabag series two will launch on Monday 4th March at 10.35pm on BBC1.
However, the first episode will be available even earlier online: viewers will be able to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC3 from 10am on 4th March.
“The eponymous Fleabag returns, joining an uncomfortable family dinner to celebrate Godmother and Dad’s engagement,” the BBC said in a statement.
“Alongside familiar faces – uptight sister Claire, and her alcoholic husband Martin, Fleabag find herself intrigued by Godmother’s new Priest. The evening comes to a tempestuous end however, when an unexpected attack brings old tensions bubbling to the surface.”
Is there a trailer for Fleabag series two?
You’re in luck – the BBC have released a first-look trailer, giving us an initial glimpse of Andrew Scott’s priest, whom Fleabag appears to have developed an unhealthy crush on…
#Fleabag series two returns to BBC Three on March 4th. pic.twitter.com/pjllgsNdSe
— BBC Three (@bbcthree) February 21, 2019
Fiona Shaw (who previously worked with Waller-Bridge on Killing Eve) also appears as Fleabag’s new counsellor — to whom Fleabag admits to “using sex to deflect from the screaming void inside my empty heart”.
It also features the return of Olivia Colman as Fleabag’s insufferable step-mother, who’s engaged to Fleabag’s father.
What will happen in the new series of Fleabag?
Series one centred around the eponymous anti-heroine, a woman in her 30s living in London, trying to navigate her own life while dealing with the tragedy of her best friend’s death.
The last time we saw Fleabag, she was pretty broken, and producer Lydia Hampson told Dazed: “We can’t go back to pretending she’s fine again.”
She added: “Whatever our story is, we’re going to start a year on from where we left off.”
This series will see our nameless heroine take on God after meeting a priest (played by Sherlock’s Andrew Scott), who completely changes her world view.
“I always felt there was going to be an act of violence and religion,” Waller-Bridge said. “And I didn’t know how to put those together until I had a coffee with Andrew.
“I honestly don’t think this character would exist if Andrew didn’t do it.”
She’s also locked in a war with her sister, while her wicked godmother (Olivia Colman) still calls the shots when it comes to her relationship with her father.
Who will star in Fleabag series two?
Phoebe Waller-Bridge will return as Fleabag, while Olivia Colman is also set to reprise her role.
Sian Clifford will return as Fleabag’s uptight sister Claire, as will Bill Paterson as their emotionally unavailable father and the ever-brilliant Hugh Skinner as Fleabag’s on-off boyfriend Harry. Jenny Rainsford will also reprise her role as Boo.
It’s been announced that Sherlock‘s Andrew Scott is set to join the cast for series two, playing the priest who “jolts” Fleabag into “seeing the world in a different way”. The show’s producers – Harry and Jack Williams – recently revealed that Waller-Bridge wrote the part with Scott in mind.
“Like everybody else, I adored the first series,” Scott said in a recent Q and A for the series. “So I definitely felt like I didn’t want to go in and mess it up.
“Phoebe and I did a play almost 10 years ago, and we loved working together then, so I was really excited to work with Phoebe again. I was just so happy to come along to that first meeting, where we spoke for three or four hours about our lives and what Phoebe wanted for the series.”
“I ended up watching YouTube interviews of Andrew having had the thought that it would be Andrew,” Waller-Bridge added. “Before he was involved, the priest character seemed like a sort of cartoon in my head. It almost felt too obvious that somebody like Fleabag would come up against someone who’s so opposite to her.”
Kristin Scott Thomas and Fiona Shaw also have guest roles this series.
As far as any further new casting goes, Hampson told RadioTimes.com that she would love Meryl Streep to do a cameo. Yes please.
What else has Phoebe Waller-Bridge been working on?
Waller-Bridge is a hot topic in television and film right now. She has penned Killing Eve, an adaptation of Luke Jennings’ novellas starring Sandra Oh, that’s already been widely acclaimed across the pond, and starred in Solo: A Star Wars Story as L3-37. Coming up, she will take the hit stage show on which Fleabag is based to the New York stage, and has written a new HBO pilot – Run – with Vicky Jones, starring Domhnall Gleeson.
Can I still watch series one of Fleabag?
Series one of Fleabag is available on BBC iPlayer for free, but you can also buy the episodes on Amazon or iTunes.
Fleabag will return to BBC3 on 4th March 2019
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