What happened to ‘Fleabag’ season 3? The fate of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s award-winning series

Penned by the hilariously gifted Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag garnered much praise from critics and audiences after its premiere in 2016. To this day, however, Fleabag fanatics are still wondering why the show ended so soon.

Waller-Bridge debuted Fleabag as a one-woman play, which was adapted for television and eventually won six Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Despite its enormous success, Waller-Bridge has yet to soften her stance on playing the titular character again.

From the constant fourth wall breaks to the firmly British humor, it’s not hard to understand why folks resonated so much with Fleabag and its star-studded lineup of stellar characters. While Waller-Bridge has since participated in many other major projects, fans continue to pine for a third season.

How did Fleabag end?

In the closing moments of BBC’s hit comedy series, its titular lead confesses her love for Hot Priest (Andrew Scott), and while he acknowledges the term of endearment back, the two understand that their (un)holy union will never truly work. As a result, Hot Priest kindly asks Fleabag to not attend his church in the future and she happily obliges.

After Hot Priest’s departure, Fleabag gives one last long glance at the camera — breaking the fourth wall — silently confirming that she no longer needs the assistance of the audience, and establishing a bright future for herself.

Will there ever be a season 3?

Since this bittersweet ending, fans are still hoping for the story to continue. Many folks have speculated that a third season has the opportunity to showcase where Fleabag is now and how much the events in season two changed her, though creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge has insisted that she has no plans to continue the series.

In a 2020 interview with Deadline Waller-Bridge directly addressed the topic,:

“I haven’t changed my mind about season 3. It feels more and more about being the right decision.  (These awards shows) are just beautiful goodbyes. But there’s been so many goodbyes every time.”

Despite Waller-Bridge’s discouraging words, fans have yet to abandon hope. While speculation about a possible season three has yet to wither away, it’s looking more and more unlikely that viewers will see the decorated series return — but, as they say in showbiz, never say never.

For those who wish to take a stroll down memory lane and give Fleabag a watch, both seasons can be streamed right now on Prime Video.