Phoebe Waller-Bridge has once again managed to pull off what can only be described as a masterclass in corporate finesse. The Emmy-winning creator of Fleabag has renewed her deal with Amazon Studios, marking her third contract with the streaming giant since 2019. This time, she’s transitioning from an exclusive overall agreement to a first-look deal—a move that seems more like a graceful downgrade than a triumphant renewal.
Let’s break it down: Waller-Bridge has been cashing Amazon’s checks for nearly six years, reportedly pocketing tens of millions of dollars, without delivering a single TV show under her contracts. Not one. Zero. Nada. Amazon’s previous head honcho, Jennifer Salke, who approved this lucrative arrangement, recently defended the deal as a “holding commitment.” Translation? Amazon paid her to sit around and think about making something.
Since 2019, Phoebe Waller-Bridge has earned roughly more than $100 million from Amazon through these various deals. She signed a three-year, $20 million-per-year overall deal in September 2019, extended in January 2023 for another two years at a similar mid-eight-figure rate. In November 2024, this shifted to a lower-paying “first-look” deal. The $100 million+ estimate covers the initial deal ($60 million) and the extension through November 2024 ($60 million), with the first-look deal adding a smaller, unspecified amount by April 2, 2025. Exact figures are based on varying reports, so precise payment details aren’t fully public.
And sure, Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag was critically acclaimed, but that was years ago. Since then, her creative output has been sporadic at best and questionable at worst. She was involved in No Time to Die, which effectively killed the James Bond franchise, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which buried the Indiana Jones franchise, both of which most critics would prefer to forget. In Solo: A Star Wars Story, her character was widely panned as one of the film’s weakest points. Yet somehow, she remains Amazon’s golden goose, or more perhaps appropriately a “spent hen.”
Her limited Amazon projects haven’t fared much better, with a long-gestating Tomb Raider adaptation for Prime Video has reportedly burned through two writers’ rooms and tens of millions of dollars without so much as a finished script. Meanwhile, her collaboration with Solo: A Star Wars Story co-star Donald Glover on a Mr. & Mrs. Smith series fizzled out due to “creative differences,” leaving Glover to complete the project… solo.
She did manage to complete one Amazon gig, doing voice narrate for an octopus documentary—a gig that feels oddly fitting given her ability to cling onto this deal with all eight arms. Creatively titled ‘Octopus!,’ the project doesn’t actually debut until next month, and, to be fair, wasn’t really something she actually created for the studio. Guess that makes her the highest paid voice actor in cinematic history.
And let’s not ignore the elephant in the room: Amazon workers are striking for better pay and conditions while their employer funnels millions into deals like this. Maybe Jeff Bezos should’ve signed up for “Waller-Bridge Prime” if he wanted faster delivery on actual content.
At this point, one really has to wonder: does Waller-Bridge have some kind of dirt on Amazon executives? Or is this just another example of Hollywood rewarding mediocrity with blank checks? Either way, she’s laughing all the way to the bank—and honestly, who can blame her? If corporations are going to throw money at creators without demanding results, they deserve every penny wasted.
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English (US) · 