Barack Obama praises Fleabag but even fans are finding it a little awkward

Barack Obama has been vocal about his love for several TV shows, including Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey and fittingly House of Cards.

Like much of the Twitterati, the former US President has recently posted his favourite movies and tv shows of the year – and one series in particular is causing quite the stir:

Next up are my favorite movies and TV shows of 2019. Of course, there’s also American Factory, a film from our own production company, Higher Ground, that was recently shortlisted for an Oscar. Here’s the full list: pic.twitter.com/PEcgwotcxm

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2019

Yes, even former US president Obama has seen the second season of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s acclaimed comedy, which has led fans to work out that he’d watched a certain scene in season one…

Does… Does anyone understand what him watching fleabag means??? https://t.co/ldbWKvjat6

— Will (@ClippedHussar) December 29, 2019

I couldn’t be more delighted by today’s news that Barack Obama not only watched an episode of British TV where the main character sorted herself out to one of his speeches, but then put it on his Best of 2019 list. #Fleabag #BarackObama pic.twitter.com/FGl2F9s7Ta

— Stephanie Felton (@FeltonStephanie) December 29, 2019

Obama likes Fleabag. If you watched Season 1, you know Fleabag . . . um . . . “likes” Obama. ???? https://t.co/zTlTrXeEz4

— Bradley Onishi (@BradleyOnishi) December 29, 2019

Phoebe Waller-Bridge after learning President Obama picked #Fleabag as one of his favorite shows in 2019. pic.twitter.com/OT8DEbPobW

— call me v ???????? (@senoritav76) December 29, 2019

Yes, the pilot of Fleabag includes a scene where Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character gets *ahem* very excited while watching one of Obama’s speeches.

However there wasn’t any awkwardness in the response from the show’s twitter page:

We couldn’t ask for higher praise than this. ???? #Fleabag https://t.co/r6EC5YkftK

— Fleabag (@fleabag) December 29, 2019

Obama has a variety of genres on his list, including American Factory, a documentary from the production company he set up with his wife Michelle. It is the first offering from their Netflix deal, which also includes films and TV shows such as a Frederick Douglas biopic, an anthology series on overlooked deaths and a drama focusing on African-American women’s struggle in post-war New York. We doubt those shows will be similar to Fleabag, however.  

As for Phoebe Waller-Bridge, she has stated that there will be no more series of Fleabag, and has been working on the script for upcoming James Bond film No Time to Die. 

To compare our list with Obama’s, you can see our top tv series of 2019 here.