Shows to watch after you’ve finished crying over Fleabag

Two years since the final series and I still can’t. Stop. Thinking. About. Fleabag. It’s the kind of show that sticks with you for life — for everything from the dysfunctional leading lady, to the less hard-hitting stuff, like hot priests and Olivia Colman just being the glorious Olivia Colman — and while nothing will ever replace it, there are a few shows that do come reasonably close.

1. Pure

Written by writer and stand-up comedian Kirstie Swain, Pure is a hilarious comedy telling the story of 24-year-old Marnie who can’t control her sexual thoughts. It follows her as she leaves Scotland for London to seek answers, where she finds friends who help her, as cliché as it sounds, to find herself.

2. Shrill

It follows Annie, an overweight woman who wants to change her life, but not her body. From rubbish boyfriends to overbearing bosses, she comes face to face with the kinds of challenges women face on a daily basis as she vows to banish the expectations of a ‘fat woman’.

3. I May Destroy You

Like Fleabag’s post-trauma healing journey, Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You is based on her own real life experiences with sexual assault. Her protagonist, Arabella, is similar to Fleabag in so many ways: she’s strong willed but lost, she’s wise but she’s hurting. The plot follows her as she pieces the night of her rape back together, making it the kind of show you’ll binge in one night, to see what happens.

4. Catastrophe

It’s about two single people who find themselves in a relationship after Sharon unexpectedly, and unintentionally, falls pregnant. Their up and down relationship draws parallels with that of Fleabag’s connection with the priest, while they’re both just as funny as each other.

5. Chewing Gum

I May Destroy You ’s creator Michaela Coel also created, wrote, and stars in Chewing Gum. She plays Tracey, a shop assistant who decides she wants to break away from her religious family, have sex and see the world. It’s most similar to the early episodes of Fleabag, as Tracey and Fleabag become ‘real women’.

6. I Hate Suzie

Pickles, an actress, has lost control of both her personal and professional lives when her phone is hacked and, ahem, revealing photos are leaked. She navigates the world with the help of her friend and manager Naomi, much like Fleabag does with Claire.