Fleabag had six perfect episodes in Season 2. Because of them, it remains a show I still miss. It's been years but I still think about its tragically perfect ending. It’s a show that didn’t lose its way by the end. It helped that it only had two seasons. However, I have seen many series that start well but go off the rails by the second season. Phoebe Waller-Bridge deserves praise for a series that feels satisfying even with so few episodes.
Though I don’t think any series is an ideal one-to-one match with Fleabag, a few great series match it in tone, characterizations, quality, themes, and other traits that make the show outstanding. Here are a few of my favorite shows similar to Fleabag.
GameFace
GameFace is a British sitcom that aired for two seasons and consisted of 12 episodes in total. Roisin Conaty plays Marcella, a working actress who can’t drive. GameFace follows her messy messy work and personal life. Conaty not only stars in Gameface but she created it too.
GameFace and Fleabag are about women who don’t quite have their lives figured out. Their love lives are unstable, their professional lives aren’t excelling, and their emotional stability seems fragile. However, they endear the audience to them. The Hot Priest (Andrew Scott) and Fleabag become a couple you want to work out. Marcela and her driving instructor Jon (Damien Molony) have that same appeal but different.
GameFace is currently only available to stream on Channel 4’s website in the UK. It used to be available to stream on Hulu and may one day return to the platform.
This Way Up
Aisling Bea wrote and stars in This Way Up. It’s another great TV series written by a woman. The show follows a teacher of English as a second language as she recovers from a breakdown. Sharon Horgan, Tobias Menzies, and Aasif Mandvi also star.
Fleabag and This Way Up effortlessly balance comedy and drama while tackling the serious topic of mental health. Each also explores the complexities of adult growing pains, complicated romances, charmingly imperfect women, and sisterhood.
Crashing
Crashing is another series created by, written by, and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. It aired for one season and has six episodes. The ensemble cast also includes Damien Molony and Jonathan Bailey. Crashing revolves around young people living together in an abandoned hospital as property guardians.
Fleabag fans will enjoy Crashing if they want to watch another amazing Phoebe Waller-Bridge project. The shows have different plots but some of the elements are the same. They tell stories about wants, desires, complicated relationships, affairs, and the multifaceted side of people and love. Fleabag and Lulu (Waller-Bridge) are also female characters who aren’t beacons of morality. This makes them feel fully formed and layered. You may not always like them but that makes them human.
The Mick
The Mick stars Kaitlin Olson as Mick, a woman who isn’t used to the luxury lifestyle. That sort-of changes when her sister and husband are arrested for illegal activity. Mick is put in charge of their children. It’s a fish-out-of-water story for the children and Mick.
This series has a more American comedic tone than Fleabag, but the themes of complex family dynamics run through both. Mick and Fleabag are also the odd ones out in their family, so the shows also match in that way. Fleabag and her sister Claire (Sian Clifford) grow closer throughout the series. Despite their unconventional and sometimes toxic interactions, Mick becomes a great friend and parent to the children. Both highlight that complicated families can also be loving families.
Baby Reindeer
Baby Reindeer is one of Netflix’s best TV series, and it’s based on comedian Richard Gadd’s real life. He plays Donny Dunn, a fictionalized version of himself with the story beginning with a stalker. As a Black comedy, it grows darker with each episode.
Baby Reindeer and Fleabag draw you in with jokes at the expense of the main characters, but then slowly unmask the tragedy of these characters and their stories. Fleabag Season 1 in particular uses this technique. Stephen King is obsessed with Reindeer for good reason. It’s raw, emotional, and devastating but also turns tragedy into comedy, then to tragedy again. Fleabag (not to the same extent) does the same. These haunting shows are also well-rounded as TV shows, especially for acting and storytelling.
Stream Baby Reindeer on Netflix.
You’re The Worst
You’re The Worst is a romantic dramedy about two individuals who kind of hate the world and aren’t sunny. However, they fall madly in love. For five seasons, you experience the highs and lows of Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen’s (Aya Cash) love story.
It's another TV show that tackles mental health thoughtfully and movingly. Fleabag and it share in their sharp writing about mental health and falling in love. Both demonstrate love can be amazing but it’s not a miracle cure for depression.
Stream You’re The Worst on Hulu.
Miranda
Miranda is a British sitcom starring Miranda Hart. She joins the actors who are also hit screenwriters club, as she created and wrote the series. It follows her titular character, a socially awkward woman, as she navigates life.
This and Fleabag feel like sister shows. They have very different tones, and Miranda is a much lighter, hilarious character, but the ideas feel similar. Both women feel outside societal norms or expectations for their gender. They offer universal solidarity to those who don’t fit into norms.
Big Mood
Big Mood stars Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West. It follows two best friends who are dedicated to each other, but things grow increasingly more complex as Maggie’s (Coughlan) mental health declines.
Here is another show that does a few things similar to Fleabag. That includes mental health being part of the focal storyline, women who aren’t fully integrated into the ideal of adulthood, and showcasing the sometimes turbulent and beautiful bond between women.
Such Brave Girls
Such Brave Girls is a British comedy about a single mother and her two daughters. Each member of the family has their own set of troubles. Josie (Kat Sadler) suffers from some mental health issues that her family doesn’t seem to take seriously at all.
Fleabag and this series are TV siblings in their ability to find humor in dysfunction. I could see Josie and Billie (Lizzie Davidson) judging Fleabag and Claire, and vice-versa. However, they would all realize their not-so-deep-down similarities.
Stream Such Brave Girls on Hulu.
Hacks
Hacks is one of the best shows to watch on Max. It follows a comedy legend and a young writer. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder star. The show really thrives on their bond and how it pushes them to become braver and bolder versions of themselves.
Female bonding is a major part of Fleabag and Hacks. Neither show portrays it as this simple kumbaya thing. It shows how women lift each other up but also some of the rough edges of friendship in general, but specifically between women. This allows both series to create some gripping moments between the female protagonists.
Catastrophe
Catastrophe is a romantic comedy about an Irish woman and an American man who fall in love and quickly start to build a life together and a family. Things aren’t quite happily ever after, because their lifetime commitment starts with an unexpected pregnancy.
Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney play charming leads who aren’t perfect but perfect for each other. Fleabag and Catastrophe share in their ability to make you root for people even when the odds may seem against them. However, unlike the Hot Priest and Fleabag, Sharon and Rob have much greater odds of making it work.
Stream Catastrophe on Prime Video.
If these shows aren’t quite Fleabag enough, you can always just rewatch it. It is only 12 episodes.
