It’s uncertain whether “Fleabag” will be getting a second season, but BBC America has ordered a new drama from the critically acclaimed dark comedy’s creator and star, Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Based on the “Villanelle” novella series by Luke Jennings, “Killing Eve” centers on Eve, a fiercely intelligent security services operative who dreams of leaving her desk job behind to be a spy, and Villanelle, an elegant and proficient murderer.
BBC America plans to debut the thriller in 2018, and has greenlit eight episodes, Variety reports. Waller-Bridge will serve as showrunner and executive producer. No word on whether Waller-Bridge will play one of the two lead characters, but that seems likely. Sally Woodward Gentle and Lee Morris will join Waller-Bridge as executive producers on the series, which will be produced by Sid Gentle Films.
“‘Killing Eve’ is a brilliantly fresh take on the cat and mouse thriller from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, a major new talent in television,” said Sarah Barnett, president of BBC America. “Underneath the deceptively simple and entertaining surface is a subversive, funny, obsessive relationship between two women, that plays out across some of the most and least glamorous locations imaginable.”
“I always want to go darker, and I’m always being advised to stay on the lighter side,” Waller-Bridge has said of her writing. “Killing Eve” sounds like it will give the multi-hyphenate the opportunity to embrace the dark side with open arms.
Waller-Bridge created Amazon/BBC Three’s “Fleabag” and stars in the series. No word on whether it will return for Season 2, but “Fleabag” did just score Critics Choice nominations for Best Comedy Series and Best Actress in a Comedy Series. Sara Stewart, Women and Hollywood’s TV columnist, described “Fleabag” as a “feminist tragicomedy with bite.”
