Phoebe Waller-Bridge has established herself as the UK’s new queen of television, scoring not one but two concurrent hits with the warts-and-all comedy of Fleabag and the espionage pas de deux of Killing Eve.
With that reputation comes a certain gravitational pull; great performers start lining up to work with whoever they’ve heard is the new hot thing. Performers like Fiona Shaw and Kristin Scott Thomas, both of whom are joining the Fleabag cast when it returns for its second series at an unspecified date later this year, according to Deadline.
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Waller-Bridge’s partnership with Shaw makes perfect sense, the pair having previously worked together on Killing Eve, and Thomas’ combination of sharp wit with emotional range (as demonstrated in across celebrated turns in Four Weddings and a Funeral, The English Patient, and more recently, The Party) makes her an ideal fit for Waller-Bridge’s world as well.
They’ll round out an already-eclectic ensemble including Bill Paterson, Brett Gelman, and newly minted Oscar nominee Olivia Colman, all of whom have been confirmed to reprise their roles later this year.
If nothing else (and, to be clear, there’s plenty else), Waller-Bridge has done commendable work of providing more mature actresses with substantive, unusual work. With Thomas and Shaw, she continues on her crusade.
