“Fleabag” won’t be returning for its sophomore season until 2019, but the dark comedy’s creator and star keeps lining up projects in the meantime. Phoebe Waller-Bridge and her producing partner Vicky Jones have a new series in works, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The pair will exec produce “Run” under their DryWriter Banner, with Jones set to write and Waller-Bridge to appear in a recurring role. Described as part romantic comedy, part thriller, the show is being developed with Entertainment One.
“Run” follows exes who made a pact 15 years ago: “if they ever needed to escape life, they could send each other a simple text message — ‘RUN’ — and impulsively disappear together,” the source details.
Wigwam Films’ Emily Leo will EP alongside Waller-Bridge and Jones.
“We are thrilled to partner with the incredible team at eOne and Emily Leo to bring this badass romantic comedy thriller to life,” said Jones. “In eOne we found a team passionate about storytelling and committed to making stand-out television for audiences around the world.”
Pancho Mansfield, eOne’s president of global scripted programming for television, added, “We are delighted to work with DryWrite on this provocative new project. Vicky and Phoebe’s unique voices and talent for creating boundary-pushing original characters have made them bold creative and critical successes on the screen and stage. We look forward to joining forces with them on this intriguing premise that will undoubtedly capture audiences’ attention.”
Jones directed the award-winning stage version of Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag,” which preceded the series about a self-destructive cafe owner dealing with the aftermath of a tragedy. Jones has said that she and Waller-Bridge “wanted to create theater in which women could discuss anything without censoring themselves.”
Also a playwright, Jones’ credits include “Touch” and “The One.” She wrote an ep of Waller-Bridge’s upcoming series “Killing Eve.” The BBC America title centers on Eve (Sandra Oh), a security services operative who dreams of leaving her desk job behind to be a spy, and Villanelle (Jodie Comer), a murderer.
Waller-Bridge will serve as showrunner on the series. “Broadchurch” and “Crashing” are among her other acting credits, and she created the latter. She has a role in “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” set to bow May 25.
