I came to this show for Meg Stalter. I have long been a fan of her and her kooky comedy, even before she broke out on Hacks. I was fairly confident it would be funny, especially combined with creator Lena Dunham’s specific brand of humor. But I wasn’t expecting to genuinely enjoy it as much as I did. Aside from the laughs, the show has real authenticity and heart.

Inspired by the real-life story of Lena Dunham and her husband Luis Felber, Too Much follows Jess (Meg Stalter) and Felix (Will Sharpe). Jess moves to London after she and her long-term boyfriend, Zev (Michael Zegen), break up and he then gets engaged to another woman, influencer Wendy (Emily Ratajkowski). Immediately, she meets Felix, a struggling musician with past trauma. The two connect right away and the show follows their relationship through its ups and downs. Jess is still scarred by her relationship with Zev and becomes obsessed with his fiance, Wendy. She often records videos addressed to Wendy (that she saves but doesn’t send or post), telling her updates about her life or unloading anger and frustration onto her, that the show uses as narration (which, I’m sorry to say, the “Dear Wendy Jones” reminded me of the “Dear Ellen DeGeneres” framing in It Ends With Us). Felix struggles with addiction and commitment. Jess is over-the-top, feeling every emotion deeply and intensely, while Felix is a typical reserved and guarded Englishman. Jess is ambitious at work and in life. Felix is flighty and lacks any drive. The two are in some ways polar opposites, formed into these versions of themselves by past dysfunctional relationships and home lives. And we see many reasons and examples of why they could never work as a couple. But, somehow, they have this spark of connection that burns through all of the practical stuff. That makes you root for them and think, of course they should be together, they’re perfect for each other! 

Too Much is the epitome of the modern romcom. Both in style and the fact that it’s a television series and not a feature film. Following in the footsteps of shows like Nobody Wants This and The Summer I Turned Pretty, stories that 20 years ago would have had theatrical releases. While personally I’d prefer the movies, I’m glad these stories exist at all today. And Too Much knows where it came from. All of the episode titles are takes on classic romcoms or romances like Notting Hill, Love Actually, Sense and Sensibility, etc. It also strikes a great balance of romance and comedy, like all good romcoms should. There were moments that made me laugh out loud. Jess insisting the film series is called “British Jones Diaries” because the main character is British will stick with me probably forever. Or Jess saying, “I’ve always actually felt really hot, except for when I haven’t.” Funny, but also very real. Moments that felt like they were made for me personally, like Jess singing along to “Angels Like You” by Miley Cyrus at the top of lungs, praising the genius of the song (agreed!). But then also saying to Zev after he derides her for her music taste, “Don’t make me feel stupid for loving things.” Or when Jess asks Felix, “Isn’t adulthood just a series of things we don’t want to do, but we have to?” That’s how I feel most of the time. (Felix replies, “No. I think it’s like…trying to make sure you can do the things that you actually do want to do.” Wishful thinking that showcases their opposing viewpoints on life and responsibility.) Moments that broke my heart. Like the entirety of episode 5 that chronicles the rise and fall of Jess and Zev’s relationship in an incredibly painful portrait of a verbally abusive  partner. Moments of super sweet romance. Like when Jess explains to Felix that she has to sleep with the curtains open because she’s worried she won’t know when it’s morning and wake up on time and he assures her, “I’ll tell you when it’s morning. I can be the curtains.” Or at the end of episode 6 when Felix asks Jess what song makes her feel powerful and then he plays the guitar while she sings Kesha’s “Praying” so softly and earnestly it brought me to tears. And most of all, in the thesis statement of the show, when Felix tells Jess, “No, you’re ‘too much’ in a good way. You’re just enough and a little bit more.” A beautiful statement to someone who has spent a lifetime worried their extra-ness would make them eternally unlovable. While there are these sweet moments of romance throughout, I think where the show falters is that it could have used more of them. It focuses mostly on their dysfunction and I wanted to see the pair connect a little bit more to be able to understand what they should be fighting for in a relationship. While real to life, the baggage the main characters bring and that is constantly psychoanalyzed weighs the show down.

Meg Stalter brings her signature off-beat, awkward humor and stumbling delivery to Jess, but also showcases a surprising level of vulnerability we haven’t seen from her before. This is her first real three-dimensional role and I thought she handled most facets of the character well, but struggled the most with the bigger emotional outbursts. They often leaned more towards wacky than a real breakdown. Jess is the Lena Dunham stand-in character, an aspiring director who moves to London and gets involved with a musician. While the show is somewhat of a retelling of Dunham and husband Luis Felber’s story, she told Variety, “It’s certainly not quote-unquote based on a true story, but like everything I do, there is an element of my own life that I can’t help but inject.” I thought about this most in terms of Jess’s ex, Zev, as played by Michael Zegen (aka Joel Maisel). The character is such an asshole, he made my blood boil. And then it occurred to me: is this supposed to be Jack Antonoff? (Dunham and Antonoff dated from 2012-2017 and Taylor Swift wrote the song “You Are in Love” about their relationship.) Dunham claims that Zev is an “amalgamation of every ex-boyfriend,” but I will definitely be looking at Jack Antonoff a little differently after this. I’ve only seen Will Sharpe in season 2 of The White Lotus so this was a completely different look from him. I thought he gave interesting, complex performances in both and it’s cool to see his range. The show also has tons of cameos sprinkled throughout so it’s fun to spot the familiar faces. 

I feel like no one was or is talking about this show and I don’t really know why. It’s legitimately good! It does definitely get weird at times. Most times. But it’s a quirky kind of weird that works towards its humor. The show won’t be for everyone, but it’s for me for sure. And totally worth checking out if you like a good romcom. My number one takeaway from Too Much? Moving to London doesn’t solve all your problems… but it might! Maybe I should try it…

2025 Count: 66 movies, 42 seasons of television, 4 specials