No Clever Title Here: Go Watch Fleabag!

In another case of me arriving very late at the "popular thing that everyone told me was awesome," I not long ago finished watching all 12 episodes of the British comedy series Fleabag.

In case you missed it winning Emmys and Golden Globes in recent years, Fleabag is the brainchild of writer and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Loosely speaking, it's the story of a woman trying to juggle her family, dating, and managing a cafe she started with a close friend. But the series isn't really "about" much more than watching this fully-realized character navigate the hazards of modern life.

Fleabag is a real auteur work by Waller-Bridge. You can't love one without the other, and I loved both. From the conspiratorial quips and glances straight at the camera, to the stable of hilarious recurring characters (many of whom don't have actual names), to the moments of drama carefully woven throughout each episode, every aspect of this show feels like a specific vision no one else could have presented.

I scarcely know whether to praise Phoebe Waller-Bridge more as a writer or for her acting as the title character. There's a total lack of vanity here in both jobs; she pours everything out onto both the page and the screen. Every episode made me laugh out loud several times, while each of the two 6-episode seasons (or "series," as the Brits call it) built to a dramatic climax that went for something deeper than simple laughs.

The cast is great throughout, though there are highlights. Sian Clifford is withering as Fleabag's often put-upon sister Claire. Oscar winner Olivia Colman is deliciously hateful as the woman now in a relationship with Fleabag's father (following the death of his wife), making a fun villain for this piece. In season 2, Andrew Scott kicks things up a notch in the role the internet dubbed "Hot Priest." Only Fleabag herself gets to talk to the audience directly, but by the end of it all, you feel like you know each of these characters (and many others).

It was hard not to devour every last episode; even working to make them last, they don't last long. But they were fun enough that I could easily imagine watching them again some day. This was "prestige television" that wasn't at all a "challenge" as some of it can be. Fleabag can be streamed on Amazon Prime -- and if you're a subscriber, you really should do yourself a favor and do that. For me, the series was an absolute A.