The Next Fleabag
Is Beth Wants the D the next Fleabag?
Edinburgh in August is a stampede of creativity. Street corners are occupied with artists handing out flyers to their shows, trying to pique the public’s interest in a few short seconds.
On everybody’s lips are the names of two hallowed shows that originated at the Fringe: Fleabag and Baby Reindeer.
Over the years, a handful of acts have become known to the public after their Fringe shows were developed into series, including The Mighty Boosh, Taskmaster, and Flight of the Conchords. Creatives saw the potential for their work to be discovered and broadcast to audiences worldwide. But it was Fleabag, a 2013 one-woman show by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, that made Fringe history when it was adapted into a BAFTA-winning drama series for the BBC.
Nothing quite rivalled the success of Fleabag’s achievement until 2024, when Netflix series Baby Reindeer hit our screens, adapted from Richard Gadd’s 2019 Fringe show. The series went on to win six Emmys and two Golden Globes.
The message was clear: at Edinburgh Fringe, you could strike IP gold.
This year at Edinburgh, there were many great shows with the potential for development, including Dear Annie, I Hate You by Sam Ipema and Lein by Marjolein Robertson. However, one stands out among the rest: Beth Wants the D. This hour-long dark comedy tells the story of the creator’s bipolar disorder, from diagnosis in her teens to living with the condition as an adult.
The show has made a big impact during its time at the Fringe, carrying out a string of sold-out performances and winning the Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award. But with the Fringe hosting over 3000 varying acts of comedy, theatre, and everything in between, what makes Beth Wants the D shine as a prime candidate for a series? What about it screams “the next Fleabag?”
Beth May
The creator and performer of this show is Beth May, an actor, writer, and poet from Los Angeles. Beth is best known for her portrayal of various characters on the improv comedy podcast, Dungeons and Daddies, which receives 2 million downloads a month.
Beth’s fanbase from the show was further fostered by her knack for social media. Her platform draws you in: live-streamed Q&As, excerpts from her shows, and personal snapshots of her life show equal parts the creative and the woman behind the work.
When Beth began crowdfunding to bring Beth Wants the D to the Edinburgh Fringe, her fans showed up. Over $40,000 was raised by individuals who were excited to see the show succeed.
Her previous characters quickly became fan-favorites, such as Beth’s main character in Dungeons and Daddies, Ron Stampler: a bumbling middle-aged step-father who begins as the comedic fool of the show but develops to have its most heartfelt and heartbreaking moments.
Beth has a unique ability to create hilarious and lovable (but by no means morally sound) characters for her dedicated fan base.
Expansion into TV Series
Much like the show’s pivotal theme of bipolar disorder, the story moves from electrifying highs to rock-bottom lows, with a range of situations that can further be examined.
Events in Beth’s story are played out, telling the tale of a life trying to tame the beast of mental instability. Bouts of mania as a teen, feeling invincible and popular and powerful, just to have the crushing blow of the bipolar type 1 diagnosis. Electroshock treatment leaving her with memory loss; including forgetting the entire relationship with her loving boyfriend. Being detained at an inpatient facility and thrown into cringe-inducing group therapy.
It sounds dark (which it is - a key component of the story is Beth’s struggle with a longing to commit suicide), but the comedy comes from the storytelling, approaching each moment with a comedic twist about the absurdity of the situation, a method similarly used in FX’s popular show Dying for Sex.
The characters who stand out the most are the other patients of the facility. From the social worker who airily asks a room full of suicidal patients to “name something beautiful for every letter of the alphabet,” to the philosophical college student faking his illness who replies, “C is for… Change.” This is where the show’s title comes from, as an exasperated Beth can only think of one answer to something beautiful beginning with D: Death.
It’s a darker shade of comedy we haven’t seen in the spotlight for a while. The trend-setters of the moment play with high shock value to rile audiences up or wholesome content to placate them. This mirrors what we see as we scroll social media feeds: rage-bait followed by feel-good content. Beth Wants the D is more reminiscent of I May Destroy You or Flowers: we see something that isn’t afraid to explore the mess of life with characters that don’t always have a lesson to teach us.
The Next Fleabag?
Waller-Bridge’s show is still revered after it first aired in 2016, and for good reason. It was bold and unique, introducing the fourth-wall-breaking narration-to-camera that many tried to replicate. It’s a favourite that fans return to time and time again.
Beth Wants the D similarly has a strong creative voice at the centre; much like Waller-Bridge, May is undeniably injected into each aspect of the show. The comedy and drama elements are balanced to give a relatable but uniquely positioned slice of life. And there is a world of characters and situations that support the main character’s journey with bipolar disorder and the fluctuating will to live. As it is set over a span of around fifteen years, each episode could cover a natural chapter in the story; be that a notable period of time like Beth’s teenage years, or a key setting such as the mental health facility.
The final ingredient to a successful adaptation would be further exploring the aspects that make this show unique. Perhaps expanding on the idea of memory loss to make Beth an unreliable narrator. Or presenting the series in a non-linear fashion, as the stage show does, building the story as though it were a puzzle.
It is a show packed with possibility, making its potential for development very exciting to consider.
Written by Molly Wise (Instagram).