Streaming & TV Alerts · Morgan Hayes · 25 September 2026

Lena Dunham is all business in 'It Gets Worse' first look

Lena Dunham is all business in 'It Gets Worse' first look

Lena Dunham is all business in first-look images from Channel 4 and A24's upcoming drama It Gets Worse, where she guest stars as Greta. Creator-star Leo Reich leads the London-set series, which is due to premiere at the BFI London Film Festival next month.

Variety has released the first look at Dunham in character, seated at a wooden desk with a CEO nameplate in what appears to be an airy office. The images underline the Streaming & TV Alerts buzz around the Channel 4/A24 collaboration.

Key Takeaways

Who is in the cast of It Gets Worse?

Reich plays Ethan opposite Emily Fairn as Abi and Olive Gray as Sam. The trio have been best friends since college. Dunham's Greta appears in the newly shared first-look stills that put Lena Dunham all business behind a CEO nameplate.

The ensemble also includes Amelia Dimoldenberg as Emily, Blake Harrison as Roger, Vicki Pepperdine as Sarah and Clayton Pettet as Freddy. According to Variety, novelist Zadie Smith narrates the series.

What is It Gets Worse about?

Per the official synopsis, it has been a year since Ethan, Abi and Sam finally moved to London. They have collectively accomplished nothing, and now their landlord is selling up. They are getting kicked out.

The friends ask whether they can keep their friendships alive when they are dispersed across a city that seems to want them dead, find a casual fling, or get their shit together when the world is so obviously falling apart. Probably not. But they are going to have fun trying.

When does It Gets Worse premiere and who made it?

It Gets Worse is set to premiere at the BFI London Film Festival next month. Channel 4's head of comedy Charlie Perkins commissioned the show, with A24 producing.

Sam Pinnell, known for Trying and Motherland, is the producer. Mounia Akl, whose credits include House of Guinness and The Responder, directs. Adolescence Emmy winner Matthew Lewis serves as director of photography.

For viewers tracking new UK drama and A24 television, the Lena Dunham all business first look is an early signal that It Gets Worse pairs sharp casting with Reich's voice as writer, creator and star.

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