Netflix fans counting down for Lena Dunham's TV return with raunchy rom-com
It has been more than a decade since HBO's Girls first hit our screens back in 2012, but fans of Lena Dunham are as excited as ever for her latest project.
Titled Too Much, the Netflix show stars Hacks' Megan Stalter as Jessica, who is a New York workaholic in her mid-thirties.
Reeling from a broken relationship, she decides to take a job in London to live a life of solitude.
But after she arrives, she meets Felix (Will Sharpe), who seems to be a less than suitable partner.
Despite this, she finds that their unusual connection is impossible to ignore.
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
Written and directed by Girls creator Lena, the show also has producers from the film Love Actually.
The rom-com will officially launch on the streaming platform on July 10.
But, Netflix has also revealed that five guest stars – Andrew Scott, Jennifer Saunders, Kit Harington, Rita Ora and Jessica Alba – will feature in the show.
Taking to the YouTube comments section, many viewers shared their excitement over the latest series.
@treemu.c wrote: 'We love a plus size lead, who knows what she wants💁🏻♀️
So excited for this!'
@geminithetwins added: 'Wait, am I actually excited about a Hollywood rom-com?!'
@RandomPersonOnEarth678 also joked: 'Emily in Pari- I mean London.'
After Girls ended in 2017, it has been clear to see what a pioneering impact it has had on TV.
Now, with Too Much, it feels like a natural evolution for Lena, who was likely influenced by her own experience living in the UK.
Speaking at the Next on Netflix event in London earlier this year, Lena said that while of her own experiences moving to and living in the UK informed the storyline, the star of the show made the role her own.
'I'm sure many of you have fallen in love with Megan Stalter from her work as Kayla on Hacks, the not very competent, but utterly delightful assistant.
'What I love about her is she is truly an old fashioned physical comedian in the vein of, you know, Carol Burnett or Elaine May, but she has something really modern and also really sweet about her, and she can move between intense comedy and heavy drama with ease,' she explained. https://www.instagram.com/p/DFdVGMXROJ0/?utm_source=ig_embed
'She just felt like the perfect foil to feel how Americans contrast against the people of this nation, because it didn't take very long for me to realise that while you technically speak the same language, there are some vast differences that I am still coming to understand.' More Trending
The 38-year-old went on to share that while the show 'does touch on some heavy topics', it was ultimately a comedy whose goal it was to 'bring joy'.
'You can take a half hour away from your day and feel like you are part of a world that is truthful, but just a little more sweet and tender than the actual world that we live in,' she added.
Following the end of Girls, Lena has appeared in shows such as American Horror Story and Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. She has also directed the first season of Industry, created the comedy Camping and executive produced Genera+ion.
View More »
Too Much will be available to stream on Netflix on July 10.
Got a story?
If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: South Korean gangster drama hailed 'best revenge series' soars up Netflix chart
MORE: WWE fans 'in tears' over beloved star's powerful transformation on Raw
MORE: 'Best vampire movie in history' added to Netflix to celebrate 40th anniversary
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
6 hours ago
- Spectator
Ingenious: the Globe's Romeo & Juliet reviewed
Cul-de-Sac feels like an ersatz sitcom of a kind that's increasingly common on the fringe. Audiences are eager to see an unpretentious domestic comedy set in a kitchen or a sitting-room where the characters gossip, argue, fall in love, break up and so on. TV broadcasters can't produce this sort of vernacular entertainment and they treat audiences as atomised members of racial ghettos or social tribes. And they assume that every viewer is an irascible brat who can't bear to hear uncensored language without having a tantrum. The result is that TV comedy often feels like appeasement rather than entertainment. Theatre producers are keen to fill the gap, and the latest effort by writer-director David Shopland declares its ambitions in its title. Cul-de-Sac is set on a housing estate where Frank and Ruth are busy destroying their marriage. Ruth lounges on the sofa all day drinking sherry and mourning the loss of her career as a therapist. Frank is a depressed salaryman who rants and raves obsessively about a mysterious Mercedes parked by his kerb. The couple make friends with a timid bisexual neighbour, Simon, whose wife has just run off with his brother. More characters arrive. Marie is a beautiful, nerdy evangelical who recruits worshippers for her husband's church by knocking on strangers' doors. Her latest disciple, Hamza, is a Kurdish businessman who owns the Mercedes that blocks Frank's drive. Thus the messy social circle is complete. The characters are quirky, likeable and easy to relate to. And the show is full of awkward comic moments and latent sexual conflict. The best character, Simon, is perhaps too obviously based on Alan Bennett. He has a squashed blond hairdo and geeky black-rimmed glasses, and he speaks in a lugubrious, wheedling Yorkshire accent. The show is good fun for 90 minutes but after the interval, disaster strikes. The script morphs into an anguished memory play and the characters become self-pitying bores. They take it in turns to describe the most grisly moment of their lives. Ruth explains the crisis that terminated her therapy career. Marie reveals the difficult truth about her missionary work. The men recount tales of loss and bereavement caused by lethal explosions and murderous terrorist attacks. These distressing back-stories have no shape or dramatic direction and the show becomes an interminable group-therapy session. At the climax, a suitcase is opened to reveal a blood-stained item of clothing, and the script delivers 'messages' about the virtues of tolerance. We're warned not to indulge in xenophobia or to lay blame on a particular faith for the crimes of a few extremists. In other words, it feels like a TV show. Perhaps Netflix will pick it up. At the Globe, Sean Holmes offers an ingenious new take on Romeo and Juliet. His inspiration? Set the show in the Wild West. It makes sense, just about, to plonk the story into a frontier town where two murderous families are locked in a deadly feud. The Victorian age was a time of stylish and dignified fashions so the show looks terrific. The women swish around in sumptuous full-length gowns while the men sport frockcoats, hip-hugging trousers and chic leather boots. The cowboy hats are a bit of a problem. Thesps hate wearing headgear that conceals their faces, and in this production the actors wear their hats shoved well back on their heads so that their handsome mugs can be seen at all times. Perhaps the hats could be ditched altogether. This feels like a TV show. Perhaps Netflix will pick it up Most of the cast are pretty good, some are exceptional. Michael Elcock's Mercutio is a mischievous, charming street hustler who turns the tricky Queen Mab monologue into a tour de force by pretending that it's the most hilarious joke he's ever heard. (On the page, the speech reads like a bad dream about a spider improvised by a stoned poet.) Elcock's playful, fleet-footed Mercutio makes Romeo seem like an angry dullard by comparison, but that's always a risk with this play. At least Rawaed Asde (Romeo) has the dreamy good looks of a movie star. His Juliet (Lola Shalam) plays the part as a cheery Essex blonde with a heart of steel. When her father threatens to force her out of the house, he looks more scared than she does. Jamie Rose-Monk's Nurse is too young to perform the role as a venerable lady's maid and she plays it like Juliet's best mate from school. Dharmesh Patel works wonders with the small role of Peter by adding balletic little hand gestures and other physical absurdities. None of his play-acting is in the script but it comes across beautifully in the festive, carefree atmosphere of the Globe. This is an object lesson in how to reconceptualise Shakespeare. The idea of the Wild West is lightly handled and it offers witty suggestions rather than imposing ugly restrictions.
NBC News
8 hours ago
- NBC News
Kristen Bell reveals the one thing ‘Nobody Wants This' fans say to her
Kristen Bell says there's one thing that fans always tell her about her hit Netflix show 'Nobody Wants This.' While speaking about the series with NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff in a joint interview her co-star Adam Brody, Bell revealed the common thing people tell her when they talk about her rom-com. 'This has happened to me, I'm going to say — and I don't think I'm exaggerating — six times where I've had different women in my life... like a girl in my choir class was like, 'Oh, I'm going to start watching your show. I haven't seen it yet. My dad told me to watch it,'' she said exclusively to Soboroff, who laughed. 'I'm not joking. Everybody's dad has seen this show and is telling them to watch it, like a bunch of my friends,' she added. Brody agreed. 'Yeah, parents and grandparents,' he said. 'Dads love it!' Bell added. Brody and Bell star in 'Nobody Wants This' and play a devout rabbi and an agnostic sex podcaster, respectively, who fall in love in the most unconventional way. The series premiered on Netflix in September 2024 and then it was renewed for another season in October of that same year. Season 2 is now set to premiere this October. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bell talked about the impact that 'Nobody Wants This' has had on fans and she said she's glad that the show became a hit. 'I've never gotten a response to any show I've ever been a part of like this show,' she said. 'It's been thrilling to hear how many people have enjoyed it,' Bell continued. 'That's kind of my main goal with any type of performance.' 'Ultimately, I just want people to have a nice escapism while watching something I've been in, and I feel like this has provided that for so many people,' she added.
Wales Online
10 hours ago
- Wales Online
Major shake-up of how people pay BBC licence fee proposed
Major shake-up of how people pay BBC licence fee proposed BBC chairman Samir Shah suggested the current flat fee could be replaced in future The BBC licence fee would be means tested if the proposals were introduced (Image: Getty ) A BBC boss has proposed TV licence fees could be based on the value of one's home in future. Chairman Samir Shah suggested that the current £174.50 fee could be replaced with a progressive payment structure tied to property values. In an interview earlier this year, he proposed that the fee could be linked to council tax bands and collected concurrently, marking his first significant change since succeeding Richard Sharp. He also dismissed the notion of replacing the TV licence with a Netflix-style subscription service, arguing it wouldn't fulfil the BBC's mission to provide something for everyone in the country. Under this proposal, households in higher council tax bands would pay more for BBC services, while those in lower bands might pay less than the current rate. The option to opt out of paying a TV licence would be removed. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Shah believes this approach would lessen the need to prosecute non-payers, telling The Sunday Times: "It gets rid of the enforcement issue, which is a problem. The idea that not paying the licence fee is a criminal offence seems too harsh." For regions like Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands, where Council Tax doesn't apply, an alternative method would need to be established, reports the Express. Article continues below Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy may be receptive to the idea, having previously described the current model as "harder for poorer households to pay". During the interview, he tackled queries about altering the BBC's funding model and dismissed the idea of a hybrid structure that would offer basic services like news for free while charging for drama or comedy content. He also mentioned that introducing advertising to the BBC would "kill off ITV" and rejected the notion that the BBC should be funded entirely through general taxation, arguing it would "leave the BBC open to influence from the government of the day". Article continues below At the moment, although there are concessions or free licences for certain groups, such as those over 75 who receive Pension Credit, the licence fee does not take personal assets into account. The standard licence fee is set at £174.50 per annum, with a reduced rate of £58.50 for black and white TV subscriptions. For individuals who are blind or severely sight-impaired, there is a 50% concession, bringing the cost down to £87.25.
