Younger: The 97% Rotten Tomatoes Show Fleabag Replacement on Netflix

Those who are still feeling the void left behind by the stellar series Fleabag absolutely must check out its replacement show that's currently blowing up on Netflix, Younger. With series like Girls and Orange is the New Black, the 2010s were a huge decade for female-driven TV, but there was no show quite like Fleabag, which chronicled the tumultuous life of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's titular London-dwelling protagonist.

Fleabag ended after just two seasons, but it picked up myriad awards along the way — including six Emmys. The 100% Rotten Tomatoes-scoring show made an A-list star out of Waller-Bridge and showcased the exquisite range of Hot Priest actor Andrew Scott, who had previously been most famous for his role as the iconic villain Moriarty in Sherlock.

In contrast, though Younger ran for much longer than Fleabag, with seven seasons to its name, it didn't get nearly the same level of attention or awards love, despite its high 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. However, the show, created by Darren Star of Sex and the City and Emily in Paris fame, has been experiencing a huge surge in popularity since its arrival on Netflix, and it's easy to see why.

What Is Younger About?

Younger is based on Pamela Redmond Satran's 2005 novel of the same name and premiered on TV Land in 2015. It focuses on the tumultuous life of Younger main character Liza Miller (Sutton Foster), a 40-year-old New Jersey housewife whose life is turned upside down when her gambling addicted husband leaves her for another woman. Desperately in need of a job, Liza attempts to re-enter the publishing industry that she left behind for a domestic life.

The only problem? Nobody wants to hire a middle-aged woman. So, goaded by her best friend Maggie (Debi Mazar), Liza lies about her age, passing herself off as a 26-year-old millennial. She is then immediately hired as an assistant to marketing executive Diana Trout (Miriam Shor) at Empirical Press.

There, Liza befriends the ambitious young editor Kelsey Peters (Hilary Duff) and catches the eye of the dashing head of the company, Charles Brooks (Peter Hermann). Liza also gets swept up in a whirlwind romance with the young, sensitive tattoo artist Josh (Nico Tortorella), who believes they are the same age.

Much of the show's humor comes from Liza's desperate attempts to maintain her lie, but Younger also has tremendous heart and passion. It's a fun and glitzy yet deeply relatable experience about a woman's complicated desire to get the most out of life, both personally and professionally.

Younger Gained A Huge Audience With Its Netflix International Release

American audiences are no strangers to the show, as three separate Younger seasons wound up on Netflix's top 10 streaming chart at the beginning of 2025. However, the series would become an even bigger hit when the streaming platform released it internationally at the end of the year.

Younger became an instant global streaming success for Netflix the moment it was released, hitting the No. 4 spot on Netflix's top 10 international chart, ahead of popular shows like the Spanish City of Shadows and K-drama rom-com Dynamite Kiss. Though it has since fallen off the top 10 list as of this writing (via FlixPatrol), it is still holding strong in several countries, including Canada, where it is currently No. 7.

Besides being a great show, Younger's Netflix success suggests a hunger for binge-worthy shows that are easily digestible in terms of season and episode length. Too often in the streaming landscape, series are getting shortened seasons with bloated episode runtimes — Stranger Things' recently released final season is only eight episodes, with the shortest clocking in at just under an hour.

However, each of Younger's seven seasons is a sizable 12 episodes, for a total of 84. Each episode clocks in at 20-something minutes, which used to be the standard for "half-hour" comedy shows, and appears to be exactly what audiences want, if Younger's newfound popularity is any indication.

Why Younger Is The Perfect Fleabag Replacement

Besides its palatability from a runtime standpoint, Younger is also an absolute windfall for Fleabag fans who never got the chance to experience it. Like Phoebe Waller-Bridge's derogatorily-named Fleabag, Younger's Liza is also an incredibly messy and flawed protagonist. If it weren't for Liza's sunny demeanor and overall likability, she too would undoubtedly be labelled an antiheroine.

Whereas Fleabag is blatantly using sex and dry humor as coping mechanisms for her profound grief, Liza is initially justified in her lie, as she's simply just using an ageist industry against itself. However, like Fleabag, Liza's actions have major consequences, including feelings of hurt and distrust when those closest to her find out the truth — not to mention Josh getting a dragon tattoo because he thinks Liza was born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon.

Though romance is a major component of both Fleabag and Younger, non-romantic female relationships are the beating heart of both series. Fleabag's relationship with her sister Claire (Sian Clifford) is fraught, to say the least, but also the most important in her life. Meanwhile, Kelsey Peters is an integral, beloved part of Liza's life, but it's complicated by her massive lie.

There's no shortage of excellent, female-driven series on Netflix, but for those specifically missing Fleabag, there's no better pick on the platform than Younger.

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  Younger

  Release Date 2015 - 2021-00-00

  Network TV Land, Paramount+

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    Sutton Foster

    Liza Miller

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    Hilary Duff

    Kelsey Peters

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  Fleabag

  

  9/10

  Release Date 2016 - 2019-00-00