Fleabag awkward family dinner is comedy masterpiece

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, director Harry Bradbeer and editor Gary Dollner breakdown the best 30 minutes of TV this season.

Fleabag: rivetingly funny, then suddenly unfunny comedy

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Olivia Coleman, Fiona Shaw and Andrew Scott shine.

Why do I get the feeling that Phoebe Waller-Bridge likes trouble? The second series of Fleabag, again written by and starring her, arrived "371 days, 19 hours and 26 minutes later", in a flurry of sex (Fleabag flirting with new character, "cool, smoking priest", played by Andrew Scott), violence (a punch-up between Fleabag and her loathsome, lying brother-in-law, Martin, played by Brett Gelman), and miscarriage - suffered secretly in a restaurant toilet cubicle by Fleabag's sister, Claire (Sian Clifford).

In the end it was almost as much of a bloodbath as the other show Waller-Bridge writes, Killing Eve. Before it all kicked off, our favourite selfish, rude, inappropriate, fag-smoking malcontent (the Dorothy Parker of the Fomo generation?) had, relatively speaking, been behaving herself at the engagement meal of her inadequate father (Bill Paterson) and snaky godmother (Olivia Colman, on fine, forked-tongue form). The show's appeal lies in Waller-Bridge's gift for jumping between casual interaction ("Claire, you've been ages. Are you pissed off, or are you doing a poo?"), to fang-deep venom (Martin to Fleabag: "I'm so intrigued to see how you're going to make this whole evening about yourself"), to surreal pathos ("Get your hands off my miscarriage!"). While I felt the first series flagged slightly towards the end, this was a dark, stylish return - the telly staple of a tense family celebration, but with sudden twists and writing so sharp it could scratch your eyes out.

Fleabag season 2 review

Phoebe Waller-Bridge's farcical dinner party is a masterclass in dark comedy.

Flea cheers! Phoebe Waller-Bridge is back...

Thankfully, Fleabag has now achieved enough self-awareness for her emotions to reach beyond her sex drive. That's good, because dialogue this sharp, with a roster of actors this strong, shouldn't be turning viewers off.

Fleabag, Series 2 review - a standing ovation

Phoebe Waller-Bridge knocks it out of the park as the show returns.

How Fleabag is ripping up the comedy rule book

Previously consigned to BBC3, Auntie Beeb has now hitched up her skirts to place it, and its jaw-dropping references to sexual practices, on primetime BBC1.

Fans review the return of Fleabag

Is it in the top 10 comedies of all time, or middle-class garbage? Readers offer up their verdicts on the start of the second series.

Fleabag series 2 review

Snort-out-loud dark comedy that pulls no punches.

On the basis of this opening episode, the second series of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's hilarious comedy of manners is even more packed with wit, pathos and promise than the first. Tonight, an excruciating family dinner to celebrate her wicked godmother and her withered father's engagement sees old tensions resurface.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge interview

Fleabag, back for a second series, follows the life and thoughts of a dry-witted, sexual, angry Londoner. We asked the hit black comedy's writer and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge (33) - who also wrote hit show Killing Eve - what's in store.

What to say about Fleabag (if you're a man)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge's hit comedy has returned. Beware, it's a bit risky for male viewers.

Review: Fleabag, Series Two, BBC Three/BBC One

So follow that. After the seismic success of the first series of Fleabag the action picks up 371 days and some hours later, with the family gathered for an important celebratory dinner. But this is Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag, it's never going to be an uneventful meal is it, as an early scene in which a bloody nose is wiped makes abundantly clear.

Fleabag series 2 review

Welcome back our broken, mischievous, frank-talking friend.

Fleabag is back - and it's better than ever

Phoebe Waller-Bridge deftly sidesteps the difficult second album problem in an assured series premiere for the hit BBC3 comedy, says Huw Fullerton.

Fleabag series 2's darkest joke "revenge" against BBC

"The BBC were like, 'You can't say c**t,'" Phoebe Waller-Bridge explained. So she came up with something much, much worse.

Fleabag series 2 review

Andrew Scott joins the cast and Olivia Colman returns as the venomous stepmother in Phoebe Waller-Bridge's masterful comedy.

Review: Fleabag - Series Two

Before going into this review I should state that I have one major problem with Fleabag: other critics. When the first series aired in 2016, one of the most famous scenes is of the title character played by the show's writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, masturbating to footage of Barack Obama. Similarly, the critics are so fawning in their praise of this comedy that in my head just about every single newspaper TV critic in Britain is secretly wanking off to Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Sian Clifford on return of award-winning Fleabag

The award-winning comedy Fleabag is back on television. Actress Sian Clifford who plays Fleabag's sister Claire explains what fans can expect from the second series..

Review: Welcome back Fleabag!

The first episode of Fleabag's long-awaited second series serves up an extremely awkward family dinner, an eccentric priest and some deliciously dark comedy.

Fleabag series 2 episode 1 review

Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag returns with a bravura opening episode...

Fleabag review

An old-fashioned setup given contemporary clothing.

Fleabag Series 2, Episode 1 review

Anyone who expected fireworks from the beginning may be a bit disappointed, and Fleabag herself isn't in the self-destructive mode that she was in the first series, but that's all for the better of the show as it means we're not going to just get a repeat of previous events and instead see the character grow and evolve.

Fiona Shaw sings Phoebe Waller-Bridge's praises

Fleabag is painfully funny. Phoebe Waller-Bridge's comedy, which took critics and viewers by storm in 2018 is in equal parts excruciating and exhilarating. Writing this sharp does not come along every day.

Fleabag is still the best thing on TV

Let's just pray that in these strange times, she doesn't start wanking to Trump.

Fleabag is back - and she's found religion

Fleabag, the filthy and funny but somewhat damaged character we met in the TV comedy of the same name, has been desperately trying to turn over a new leaf.