Phoebe Waller-Bridge on Why She Brought Back ‘Fleabag’ for a Second Season

Actress and creator of Fleabag and Killing Eve Phoebe Waller-Bridge appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show on Wednesday night, where she talked with host Jimmy Fallon about her decision to explore the character of Fleabag again in the second season.

Waller-Bridge is nominated in the Emmy categories of outstanding comedy and outstanding drama, an achievement that Fallon praised her for at the top of the show.

The two then launched into a conversation about Waller-Bridge’s thought process over returning for a second season of Fleabag. “The first season had a proper ending, based on a play [her own one-woman show], and the show was adapted to that ending,” she explained, adding that the initial season presented the “most interesting” version of that girl’s story that we were going to hear. Using an example, Waller-Bridge highlighted the way that Fleabag talks to the camera, noting it was an important aspect to the character. The creator went on to say that she couldn’t justify coming back with the same persona, so she came up with the trick of another character seeing that she looks into the camera. The late-night host mentioned the introduction of CGI effects in the second season.

Probing her about the semiautobiographical nature of Fleabag, Fallon asked Waller-Bridge about the moments she chooses to depict from her own life. “Sometimes I’ll be writing and then I’ll be like, this feels familiar,” Waller-Bridge shared, referencing her writing process. She gave the example of a dramatic haircut that occurs in season two, which prompted Fallon to play a clip from the show that explores the idea that “hair is everything.”

Fallon then initiated a game of “Think Fast,” requiring Waller-Bridge to answer a set of rapid-fire questions. When quizzed about the contents of her pocket, the Emmy nominee replied, “fingerprints.”