Too Much: London-set romantic comedy from Lena Dunham
Megan Stalter stars as a 'neurotic' New Yorker who falls in love with a Brit
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Lena Dunham was just 23 when she made "Girls", said Róisín Lanigan in the Financial Times. The runaway success of that series saw her touted as "the next big thing", but nothing she has been involved with since has had anywhere near the same cultural impact. "Too Much", her new show on Netflix, might be the project that finally sees her deliver on her precocious promise.
Its protagonist is Jessica (Megan Stalter), an "obsessive, impulsive, neurotic and insecure" New Yorker who spends far too much time on her phone. Following a bad break-up, she moves to London and promptly falls in love with a Brit – a trajectory curiously similar to Dunham's own.
"Too Much" is often funny and well-observed, said Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph. There's some good "fish-out-of-water" comedy as Jessica struggles to reconcile the grimy reality of London life with romantic expectations gleaned from Jane Austen adaptations. But the pace slackens when she meets whiny indie musician Felix (Will Sharpe): the next ten episodes cover the dramatic arc of their romance in such exhaustive detail that it becomes hard to care about either character.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's not "unenjoyable", said Nick Hilton in The Independent. There are fun cameos from the likes of Richard E. Grant as Jessica's eccentric boss, and Naomi Watts as his coke-snorting wife; Dunham herself does a star turn as Jessica's divorced sister. Yet despite some great performances and writing, it settles into a rather dated romcom format. Ultimately, "Too Much" feels "strangely limited".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Local elections 2026: where are they and who is expected to win?The Explainer Labour is braced for heavy losses and U-turn on postponing some council elections hasn’t helped the party’s prospects
-
6 of the world’s most accessible destinationsThe Week Recommends Experience all of Berlin, Singapore and Sydney
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl: A win for unityFeature The global superstar's halftime show was a celebration for everyone to enjoy
-
Book reviews: ‘Bonfire of the Murdochs’ and ‘The Typewriter and the Guillotine’Feature New insights into the Murdoch family’s turmoil and a renowned journalist’s time in pre-World War II Paris
-
6 exquisite homes with vast acreageFeature Featuring an off-the-grid contemporary home in New Mexico and lakefront farmhouse in Massachusetts
-
Film reviews: ‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,’ and ‘Sirat’Feature An inconvenient love torments a would-be couple, a gonzo time traveler seeks to save humanity from AI, and a father’s desperate search goes deeply sideways
-
A thrilling foodie city in northern JapanThe Week Recommends The food scene here is ‘unspoilt’ and ‘fun’
-
Tourangelle-style pork with prunes recipeThe Week Recommends This traditional, rustic dish is a French classic
-
Samurai: a ‘blockbuster’ display of Japan’s legendary warriorsThe Week Recommends British Museum show offers a ‘scintillating journey’ through ‘a world of gore, power and artistic beauty’
-
BMW iX3: a ‘revolution’ for the German car brandThe Week Recommends The electric SUV promises a ‘great balance between ride comfort and driving fun’