Lena Dunham says she deliberately withdrew from acting and public life after HBO’s “Girls” ended in 2017, telling The Times that the glare of early fame left her struggling to separate private matters from public consumption. The writer-actor described the experience as a “painful metamorphosis,” adding that she “survived New York media in 2012 and all I got was this lousy PTSD.” During the hiatus she entered rehabilitation for prescription-anxiety medication and focused on off-camera work, including directing the 2022 feature “Sharp Stick.” Eight years on, the 38-year-old returns to television with “Too Much,” a romantic comedy she co-created with her husband, musician Luis Felber, for Netflix. The series, which premieres globally on 10 July, stars Megan Stalter as a New Yorker who relocates to London; Dunham plays her older sister after initially considering an entirely behind-the-scenes role to avoid renewed body-shaming. Dunham said the project felt manageable because she had learnt to “protect” herself while continuing to make work. Netflix is releasing all episodes at once, marking her first sustained on-screen role since the “Girls” finale.