I'm Watching Too Much As A Girls Superfan, And It's Wild Seeing History Repeat Itself With Audience Reactions

Lena Dunham is an accomplished multitalent who is perhaps best known for her work on HBO's Girls. She was the creator, showrunner, writer, star, and director for the acclaimed comedy (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription), and recently celebrated the release of a new show. Too Much is streaming in its entirety now for those with a Netflix subscription, and I am shocked by how similar the discourse is around these two Dunham creations.

Girls is a HBO show that got people talking, and there was some backlash to the selfishness of its characters... despite being a satire. During its run on TV, there was a particular focus with Dunham herself, and people who body shamed her and criticized her nudity. Now that Too Much is here, and starring Hacks standout Meg Stalter, I'm seeing the same judgmental comments online, and an inability for some audiences to accept the comedian as a leading actress.

I Think People's Biases Are Showing

Dunham's Girls character Hannah Horvath and Statler's Jessica are both deeply flawed, and have a habit of letting their emotions get the best of them. While I find them endlessly endearing and hilarious, I think that some people's inability to accept these protagonists is part of a larger cultural problem.

Despite how much the culture has moved forward in regards to inclusion, there are still plenty of people out there with an antiquated idea of what they want to see on their screens. Complicated, full-figured women can be the subject of much more criticism as a result, which I think is why people are hating on Too Much just as they did with Dunham's previous comedy series.

As a Girls superfan, I was constantly confronted by naysayers who said that the group of friends was simply too "unlikeable". While they failed to realize their selfishness was exactly what the show was satirizing, I also think that some people just don't know what to do with flawed female characters... especially when they do the "wrong" thing or act out. Just like Hannah, Jessica does plenty of that in Too Much.

While Lena Dunham has talked about Season 2 of Too Much, it's unclear if Netflix is going to renew the new comedy series. At the time of writing this story, the title has managed to trend in the Top 10 TV shows currently on the streaming service. This is definitely a good sign, and I'm hoping that discourse from the naysayers won't drown out the praise.

Too Much is streaming its entire first season on Netflix now as part of the 2025 TV premiere list, while the six-season run of Girls is on HBO Max.