Lena Dunham’s brand new Netflix series is almost here, and we’re getting excited.
Think Girls (kind of), only set in London and not starring Dunham as the protagonist. That would be Jessica, a 30-something year old woman who lives in New York, who moves to London for a fresh start.
She’s played by American actor Megan Stalter, but it’s not just her: the whole cast is stacked with some serious talent, from Adwoa Aboah to Will Sharpe, as well as countless cameos.
Who’s set to make an appearance? We unpack.
Jessica, played by Megan Stalter
A hot mess. When we meet Jessica, her career in commercial production is stalling, while years spent putting her career at the centre of everything she does means she has no life. When she gets dumped by her long term boyfriend Zev, it sparks a crisis that compels her to move to London to find her own ‘Mr Darcy.’
She’s played by Megan Stalter. Stalter is an American comedian and actor, best known for playing Kayla in Hacks. Born in Cleveland, she started doing improv in her early 20s in Ohio ("I was really, really bad. There was a man at the theater in Ohio who asked me to stop being in the show…Ohio was pretty right,” she later said), before moving to Instagram and becoming a hit there. Too Much is her first lead role.
Felix, played by Will Sharpe
Felix is a singer in a band. Sometimes. He grew up moving around a lot thanks to his father’s multiple business ventures, and as a result he’s stuck in time slightly (read: a big man-child). He turned to music as a way to cope, and got stuck in a cycle of addiction. Now he’s sober and looking for balance.
Sharpe is a British actor. He was born in London, and raised in Tokyo until he was eight, living with his Japanese mother. He went onto study classics at Cambridge (where he was in Footlights) and started his career with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Since then, he’s gained acclaim for writing, directing and starring in the Channel 4 dramedy Flowers (alongside Olivia Colman), won a BAFTA for playing Rodney Yamaguchi in Giri/Haji, and of course, starring in the second season of the White Lotus TV show as wealthy tech entrepreneur Ethan Spiller.
Zev, played by Michael Zegen
Jessica’s ex, who broke her heart by leaving her for a model. According to the show notes, “Zev is the platonic ideal of the nice guy who talks about generational Jewish trauma and wears his feminism like a badge.” Oof.
Zegen himself is an American actor, who’s best known for playing Damien Keefe in Rescue Me, Ben Siegel in Boardwalk Empire and Joel Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Wendy Jones, played by Emily Ratajkowski
A successful model whom Jessica relentlessly stalks online, and addresses all her video diaries to.
An American model and actor, Ratajkowski was born in London and raised in California. She was signed to a modelling company at a young age, and catapulted to fame after appearing in the music video for Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines.
Lois, played by Rita Wilson
Jessica’s mother. A former 70s wild child, she has trouble expressing her emotions, and keeps everything neatly tucked away. Newly single.
Wilson is a legend of the Hollywood scene. She was born Margarita Ibrahimoff in Los Angeles to a Greek mother and a father who was a Bulgarian Muslim, who was born in Greece and moved to the USA In 1949. He converted to Christianity when he married, and changed his name to Allan Wilson in 1960 (after a local street).
Wilson herself studied at LAMDA and first appeared on the Brady Bunch, though she’s starred in films including Sleepless in Seattle, Runaway Bride, Volunteers and TV series The Good Wife and Girls. She’s married to Tom Hanks.
Dottie, played by Rhea Perlman
Jess’s outspoken grandmother, who believes that her daughter (and granddaughter)’s single status is a result of dating Christina men. She likes to throw backhanded compliments around.
Perlman, who plays her, is an American actor. She was born in Brooklyn to a Polish Jewish family (her father was a background actor who appeared on Frasier) and is best known for playing head waitress Carla Tortelli in the sitcom Cheers. Over its 11 season runtime, she was nominated for ten Emmy Awards, won for, and was nominated for a record six Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actress. She’s also appeared in films like Matilda, Barbie and The Sessions.
Nora, played by Lena Dunham
Jessica’s older sister. She’s a divorcee, who has moved into the family home (along with Jessica, her mother and her 13 year old son, Dash) after her husband left.
Dunham is of course the creator of Too Much, as well as Girls, the hit show she wrote in her teens. Born in New York, she’s described herself as feeling "very culturally Jewish, although that's the biggest cliché for a Jewish woman to say." Girls came out in 2012 and was an instant hit, earning Dunham a Directors’ Guild of America Award for outstanding directing in a comedy series – the first time the award had ever been won by a woman. Recently, she’s written films including Catherine, Called Birdy and Sharp Stick.
Jameson, played by Andrew Rannells
Jessica’s former brother in law. Once married to Nora, but left her when he discovered polyamory. These days, he lives in a communal space in Bushwick with a couple, both of whom are named Cody.
Rannells, who plays him, is a screen and stage actor – who’s probably best known for being the first person to play Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 musical The Book of Mormon. He’s appeared in Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Hamilton, and has appeared in shows like Big Mouth (he plays Matthew MacDell) and Girls, as Elijah.
Jonno, played by Richard E Grant
Jessica’s new London boss. He runs a high-end ad firm that he founded in the 80s, and has a massive house in Notting Hill and a miserable wife.
Grant is a British actor. Born in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) in 1957, he went to school in Capetown and moved to the UK in 1982 to pursue dreams of being an actor. His debut role was as Withnail in the comedy Withnail and I in 1987, and he’s since gone onto appear in films like The Iron Lady, Star Wars and Saltburn, as well as shows like Doctor Who, Frasier, Game of Thrones and Suspect.
Ann, played by Naomi Watts
Jonnos’ wife. At first, she and Jess don’t get along, but they ultimately bond over various things, including Jess’s fear of not fitting it. She’s also tired of Jonno being away all the time: it’s time to put herself first.
Watts is a British actor, who’s known mainly for her work in independent films, often tragic ones. She broke through in David Lynch’s 2001 film Mulholland Drive, going onto appear in The Ring, in the 2003 film 21 Grams and play Maria Bennett in the tsunami film The Impossible in 2012 (for which she was nominated for several awards).
Aiko and Simon, played by Kaori Momoi and Stephen Fry
Felix’s parents. Aiko is passionately invested in her son’s life, while Simon is detached and business-like. They’re constantly hoping for one of his enterprises to take off, and they appear to have rather damaged their son.
Fry, of course, is somewhat of a British national treasure. He shot to fame in 1989 as part of the comedy act Fry and Laurie (with Hugh Laurie), which produced shows like Jeeves and Wooster. He starred in the sketch series Alfresco with Laurie and Emma Thompson, and in Blackadder. In 2025, he was knighted for services to mental health awareness and the environment.
Momoi is a celebrated Japanese actor. At the age of 12, she travelled to London to study with the Royal Ballet Academy, before returning to start a career in film. She’s worked with directors including Kon Ichikawa, Akiro Kuwasawa and Yoji Yamada… and has also released 15 records as a singer.
Too Much is streaming on Netflix from July 10
