Fleabag gave confidence to female comedy writers, Sussman noted.
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It opened doors for shows like Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You, which premiered in 2020 and balanced emotional gut punches with humor.
Co-produced by HBO, it was visually ambitious, with cinematography more common in feature films.
The Changing Landscape
The standard British half-hour comedy found a new form, bolstered by American money. "We tried to make Fleabag look more like a drama," said producer Harry Williams.
International streamers like Netflix, HBO, and Disney+ now partner with British broadcasters to fund women-led comedies such as We Are Lady Parts and Such Brave Girls.
But the "messy millennial" trope that Fleabag made famous has evolved. Rose Matafeo, creator of Starstruck, recalled comparisons to Fleabag as "a compliment and a little lazy."
Today, shows like The Change and Am I Being Unreasonable? feature older or more diverse female characters.
Fleabag began as a one-woman play at the Edinburgh festival fringe. Its success is hard to replicate, especially as public service broadcasters spend less on nurturing talent.
"There's some risk-averseness around original ideas," said producer Lydia Hampson.
"If something can come up under the radar again, like Fleabag did, that can release those risk-averse purse strings."
Waller-Bridge's later projects have been low-key: she created Killing Eve, co-wrote No Time to Die, and co-starred in Indiana Jones.
But her impact on British TV is undeniable.
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A decade on, Fleabag's legacy is a landscape where more female voices are heard, even if the path is still challenging.
