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Topline
While some reviews hail it the “best show on Netflix,” an extensive press rollout that included a feature in The New York Times and hype around show creator Lena Dunham’s much-talked-about return to television, her new show, “Too Much,” didn’t take off on Netflix during its debut week.
“Too Much” is now streaming.
Netflix
Key Facts
The streamer on Tuesday released viewing data for the top 10 most-watched shows of last week, and “Too Much” didn’t make the cut.
The show, released on July 10, was not on the most popular list for the week of July 7 to 13, falling to the children’s show “Miss Rachel” and other original programming like “Ginny & Georgia” season 3, which first released six weeks ago.
“Too Much” is Dunham’s return to the small screen after starring in and writing the hit series “Girls” in the mid 2010s, and she hit the publicity circuit hard before its release, giving interviews to Forbes, Interview Magazine, the New York Times, the Times of London, Variety and The New Yorker, among others.
Dunham created the series with her husband, Luis Felber, and stars as the sister of main character Jessica, played by Megan Stalter, in a rom-com she said was inspired partially by her real-life relationships and bears several resemblances to her public breakup with Jack Antonoff, the writer-producer who works closely with Taylor Swift.
Despite the hype, “Too Much” has received mixed reviews—USA Today said it contained “the year’s most devastating episode of TV” and MSNBC called it “exactly what we need right now,” but the New York Times said it was “not nervy enough” and the Houston Chronicle called it a “meh thing.”
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Crucial Quote
“It is sharp, knowing and often funny. But it’s also a self-consciously hip romcom with the whiniest leading man,” wrote Anita Singh of the Daily Telegraph. “By the end, I didn’t care if they lived happily ever after or not, as long as they weren’t doing it in my earshot.”
Key Background
Dunham broke out as the creator and star of HBO’s “Girls,” which won two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Peabody, a BAFTA and a Directors Guild of America Award. The show ran from 2012 to 2017 and also starred Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke and Zosia Mamet as best friends in New York City. “Girls” is also credited with launching actor Adam Driver, who has gone on to star in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Dunham was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2013 and had guest roles in other projects through the 2010s. She has created several films that were released to mixed reviews, and was on board to produce a film based on the Polly Pocket dolls before dropping out last year.
Tangent
“The Sandman” season 2 was the most-watched show on Netflix last week with almost 6 million views, followed by “The Waterfront,” “Sullivan’s Crossing,” “7 Bears” and an all-women’s boxing event starring Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.
