“Too A lot” will not be Lena Dunham’s speedy follow-up to “Ladies,” the seminal HBO comedy that continues to be its creator’s calling card. Within the eight years since that sequence went off the air, Dunham co-created one other HBO present (“Tenting,” a restricted sequence that was poorly obtained), directed the pilot of one other (“Trade,” which takes a “Ladies”-like curiosity in 20somethings making horrible selections) and made two options (“Sharp Stick,” a pandemic indie, and “Catherine Known as Birdy,” a medieval coming-of-age story). However the Netflix half-hour is, by a major margin, Dunham’s most private and concerned endeavor since she first grew to become a family identify among the many artistic class. Given her standing as a perennial lightning rod, Dunham’s return to the highlight topics “Too A lot” to some added scrutiny. However, this charming, idiosyncratic present preserves Dunham’s present for effortlessly distinct, joke-laden dialogue whereas evolving the “Ladies” ethos for a brand new section of life.

The protagonist of “Too A lot,” Jessica, is in some ways a transparent Dunham surrogate: an aspiring director — albeit in promoting — who strikes to London for work and rapidly will get concerned with a musician. (Dunham co-created the sequence together with her husband, Luis Felber, who met Dunham after she relocated to the U.Okay. for “Trade” and contributed authentic music to the present’s soundtrack.) Within the first of many main breaks from “Ladies,” nonetheless, Jessica is performed not by Dunham herself, however by “Hacks” breakout Megan Stalter. Although Jessica is drawn from Dunham’s expertise, Stalter, a comic, infuses the character together with her signature motormouthed cadence and stumbling supply — each well-suited to a rom-com heroine who’s out over her skis. As Jessica’s not too long ago divorced older sister, Dunham stays within the solid as a supporting participant, not the principle occasion. The auteur’s presence is far more vital behind the digicam, the place Dunham has sole writing and directing credit score on a majority of episodes.

Jessica meets Felix (Will Sharpe of Season 2 of “The White Lotus”) mere months after the collapse of her long-term relationship with Zev (Michael Zegen of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” who’s growing fairly the CV of TV heroines’ terrible exes), the great Jewish boy she thought she’d quiet down with. As a substitute, he’s wasted no time in transferring on with knitting influencer Wendy (Emily Ratajkowski) — precisely the sort of stunning, artistically fulfilled different girl to play on Jessica’s deepest insecurities. Jessica channels this grief and envy into the framing machine for “Too A lot”: a sequence of monologues addressed to Wendy and repurposed right into a voiceover.

There are a handful of simple cracks about tradition conflict when Jessica, a lifelong fan of Regency dramas, first crosses the pond. She will get a flat in an property considering the time period connotes rolling lawns, not a colorless brick tower, and thinks “bollocking” appears like a intercourse act. However “Too A lot” will not be a portrait of London within the 2020s the best way “Ladies” was a snapshot of Brooklyn within the 2010s. The latter present functioned as commentary on a selected time and place; the previous is the story of two particular individuals and the bond that kinds between them. Lots of the greatest scenes in “Too A lot,” together with a complete episode that depicts an unintentional all-nighter spent having fun with each other’s firm, encompass Jessica and Felix alone in her condominium. It doesn’t matter if what lies exterior is East London or outer area.

Although “Too A lot” makes express reference to the likes of “Delight & Prejudice” and “Love Really,” it’s actually a part of a unique custom solely: tv sequence, reasonably than movies, that use the medium’s expanded canvas to discover a relationship in all its size and complexity. (A number of the greatest examples, like “Disaster” and “Lovesick,” are additionally set in London.) Each Jessica and Felix are cultivated into advanced people with quirks, a previous and, after all, chemistry. Jessica feels feelings deeply and intensely, a high quality that butts up in opposition to Felix’s English reserve; Felix has a dreamy, scatterbrained air (“we reside throughout from the web” is how he explains his residence close to a tech firm’s headquarters) that pulls and challenges a company striver like Jessica. Every has a deep-rooted dysfunction that’s explored in episodes that illuminate their household histories and earlier love lives.

Dunham has a well-earned repute for sexual candor, and whereas “Too A lot” stops wanting the ass-eating, body-baring extremes of probably the most notorious moments from “Ladies,” it does use intercourse as a car for storytelling. There’s a spiky, unusual tenderness to their first encounter, which requires Felix to navigate round burn bandages that cowl Jessica’s torso, and the couple’s informal mid-coitus banter testifies to their consolation with one another. Stalter’s massive, blowsy persona, each in “Hacks” and on stage, makes her an unconventional alternative for a romantic lead. (Although Dunham, who confronted down a deluge of small-minded skepticism round Hannah Horvath’s sexual escapades, is aware of sufficient to solid in opposition to kind.) She nonetheless reveals a softer facet in Jessica, settling right into a extra central function with out shedding her distinctive attraction.

“Too A lot” doesn’t lavish fairly as a lot consideration on its supporting gamers, who stay siloed and by no means fairly coalesce right into a cohesive ensemble. It’s an odd alternative, for instance, to make Jessica’s mom (Rita Wilson), sister (Dunham) and grandmother (Rhea Perlman) so central to the plot after they’re 1000’s of miles away. All three performers are fantastic, however they’re usually squeezed onto telephone screens and stranded with no scene accomplice by the circumstances of the plot. Jessica’s coworkers, particularly her boss (Richard E. Grant) and a fellow transplant performed by director Janicza Bravo, are pleasant, however subplots about their love lives that would complement the first romance aren’t given sufficient room to resonate. 

Each Grant and Wilson are “Ladies” alumni, with Andrew Rannells additionally returning to the fold because the Dunham character’s ex-husband. (Simply as Hannah’s school boyfriend Elijah got here out as homosexual, Jessica’s boss and former brother-in-law is exploring his bisexuality in a throuple through which each his lovers are named Cody.) These welcome faces foreshadow different shared tendencies between the 2 exhibits. It’s generally arduous to purchase the titular concept that Jessica is unusually over-the-top when each different character appears to share her lack of filter or boundaries, in addition to an impulsivity that may border on sheer randomness. Like “Ladies,” “Too A lot” walks a fragile line between protecting the viewers on their toes and confounding them with abrupt, arbitrary developments. One episode, Jessica’s being informed she must step it up at work; the following, she’s being praised and invited to a coke-fueled group dinner. 

Jessica and Felix are, fortunately, islands inside this enjoyably chaotic sea. Neither character has their life collectively, but the obstacles they encounter are extra mature and actual than the miscommunication that tends to drive so many rom-coms. Jessica’s rage and harm from her break-up are nonetheless an open wound; Felix is giving dedication an sincere strive, however could also be an excessive amount of of a rookie to make it work. “Too A lot” hasn’t fairly found out what it’s exterior this central pairing. Watching them work out what they are continues to be greater than sufficient to earn our consideration. Episode 2 ends with an prolonged, wordless shot of Felix Jessica whereas she listens to a mixtape he made. The second goes on, and on, and on. I nonetheless want it lasted longer.

All ten episodes of “Too A lot” are actually streaming on Netflix.