Why Lena Dunham decided against starring in upcoming Netflix series Too Much

For the first time since co-creating the 2018 HBO miniseries Camping and executive producing the short-lived but beloved Max teen drama Genera+ion, Lena Dunham is returning to television. The Girls auteur and star created the upcoming Netflix original romantic comedy series Too Much, but this time around, you won't be seeing Dunham in the starring role.

Too Much stars comedian and Hacks star Megan Stalter and The White Lotus breakout Will Sharpe in a 10-episode rom-com about a New Yorker who moves to London post-breakup and happens upon a new romance with a punk rocker. The plot's semi based on Dunham's real-life experiences moving to London with musician husband Luis Felber, who co-created Too Much with Dunham.

Why Lena Dunham doesn't act in Too Much

In a profile with The New Yorker, Dunham opened up about the key reason why she wasn't interested in taking on the leading role in Too Much. The Golden Globe-winning star of Girls revealed that her past experiences leading a major series led to far too much scrutiny on her body. And it's true: Dunham's body was often a greater focus than her work back then.

Here's what she told The New Yorker:

"I was not willing to have another experience like what I’d experienced around Girls at this point in my life. Physically, I was just not up for having my body dissected again. It was a hard choice, not to cast Meg—because I knew I wanted Meg—but to admit that to myself. I used to think that winning meant you just keep doing it and you don’t care what anybody thinks. I forgot that winning is actually just protecting yourself and doing what you need to do to keep making work."

- Lena Dunham

Dunham explained to the magazine that she knew from the inception of Too Much that she wouldn't be the star of the Netflix series. Perhaps she knows that, beyond the unfair and unnecessary commentary on her body, and now dealing with disability, her presence onscreen would likely be too distracting for some viewers and critics and take away from the story. She's a lightning rod for online criticism with people mistaking her own persona as that of her character Hannah's.

While speaking on the differences between the characters in Girls and Too Much, calling the main character a loving and committed friend, Dunham admitted that she wanted the audience to see past Hannah:

"And one of the reasons, besides just loving Meg, that I wanted someone else to play [the part] is: I want people to be able to see those things in her. I think sometimes when people associate you so recently with another character, they’re not able to see that. For so long, people were, like, 'You are Hannah. Hannah is you.' They had no sense that there was any level of satire in it. I swear, even my friends started to get confused."

- Lena Dunham

She continuously praises Stalter's talents, which have been on display in every viral video and her scene-stealing performances in Hacks. Dunham clearly trusts Stalter with this story and wants to help further provide the rising star with a platform. She also shared that from the beginning of her career, she was never interested in attention. "No matter what people may think, I got into this because I wanted to be an artist," she told The New Yorker.

Too Much tackles sex differently (and premieres in 2025)

Elsewhere in the profile, Dunham revealed a bit of new information about Too Much. As a writer and director on the series, she's now crafting sex scenes over a decade after she did the same on Girls, which has provided her with a new perspective. The intimacy scenes in the Netflix series will be more about connection and "pleasure" than they were in the slightly satirical HBO series.

The series, which has been confirmed to release sometime in 2025, will also have a special bottle episode directed by Janicza Bravo. According to Dunham, the inspiration for the series stretched beyond moving to the UK as an American and sprang from her desire to honor some of her favorite movies, such as Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Bridget Jones's Diary.

Another fun tidbit about the show? Dunham's actually in it! She doesn't play a large role, but she explained it as not a lead but not a walk-on. She plays the spouse of her former Girls co-star Andrew Rannells. So, that's an exciting treat for Girls fans to look out for when Too Much makes its premiere next year. Read more of Dunham's extended conversation with The New Yorker here.

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