When Lena Dunham’s tv series, Girls, came to our screens in 2012 her finger was so close to the pulse of how a certain type of young woman lived that it was an exhilarating watch. The power of female friendship, the complexity of intimate relationships, the whole lovely/horrible mess of it all was touchingly, unflinchingly and, often, hilariously depicted.

Thirteen years later, Too Much, Dunham’s latest tv show is being streamed on Netflix. Once again it is quite a heady ride. The main protagonist, Jessica, an American 30-something advertising executive, is escaping a long-term relationship gone sour by transferring to a London agency run by Richard E Grant (turning the acting dial up to eleven).

Jessica, played quite brilliantly by Megan Stalter, holds a fantasy, specifically of England, that firmly embraces the romance of Jane Austen, whilst steadfastly ignoring that author’s razor sharp depiction of the foibles of all elements of society. Jessica, like Helen Fielding’s creation Bridget Jones before her, pants excitedly at the idea of meeting her Darcy on the streets of South and East London.

Jessica does meet the 21st century version of Darcy, who is almost as equally self-absorbed as Jessica herself. Felix, a jobbing musician, (played by Will Sharpe who effortlessly takes over the anti-hero heartthrob role that Adam Driver inhabited in Girls) has no evident means of making a living, falls in and out of substance abuse and has slept with all his female friends. He ‘has forgotten’ about the tattoo on his ass of his ex Polly though Polly has certainly not forgotten what led to the similar one on hers.

What neither Bridget Jones, nor any of the women in Girls had to contend with was additional pressures of the digital world. For Jessica it dominates. She tortures herself by following her ex-boyfriend’s new lover, Wendy, online. She films herself having conversations with Wendy and exists as much in the shallow world of influencers as in the real world.

I loved Too Much, a sharp, funny mash-up of a tribute to Jane Austen novels (and the books’ film adaptations) mixed with a pastiche of Richard Curtis movies. I feel it is a gloriously dark mirror held up to the mores of the digital age.

The title sums up the feeling of numerous clients currently filling consulting rooms saying they are overwhelmed by the onslaught of news, social media and feelings of helplessness in a world that seems to be losing hold of democracy as we watch. It reflects perfectly the pain and distress younger people bring to their sessions about being blocked, or liked, stalked, unfollowed. This world is one all therapists and counsellors have had to learn to understand and interpret.

Too Much also has some great, warm, loving sex scenes. It feels like something of an antidote to the more familiar sex we’re served on screen which is more likely to be traumatic, abusive or transgressive. I think it is also important to note that Too Much is a body-positive show. Megan Stalter’s size, larger than your average heroine, is not once referenced, not at any point is her body the object of derision or shame. Felix is whole-heartedly into every part of her body from the get go. I found this profoundly moving and ground breaking - something we expect from Dunham.

When watching Too Much the book that most came to mind was Susanna Abse’s excellent 2022 book about couple therapy, Tell Me the Truth about Love. The case histories, all carefully disguised, come from her more than 35 years of practice. When reassuring readers about the confidentiality of her clients and the ‘truth’ of her stories she says: ”The answer is that [the stories] are true in the same way fairy tales are ‘true’. They aim to tell a deeper truth about the human condition.” She continues, later: “In couple therapy the aim is to seek truth – but not possess it. Rather it is a process of unfolding something between a couple that leads to discoveries which in turn lead to understanding and, sometimes, to transformation.”  I believe the same can be said of what Dunham unfolds during the episodes of Too Much. In some ways it is a fairy tale, it is certainly about couples, and, at times, a modern day tale of the transformative power of love.