Actress and writer Rachel Sennott has done it again.
After teasing her “Untitled Rachel Sennott Project” since early September 2024, Sennott’s HBO show officially premiered Sunday, November 2.
The show follows a codependent friend group starting with a raunchy scene between Maia (Sennott) and her boyfriend Dylan (Josh Hutcherson) immediately captured audiences attention and kept them wanting more.
Taking inspiration from “Entourage” and “Girls,” “I Love LA” is set to cover relationships in the late twenties, bad jobs and life living in the influencer hot spot of America.
In episode one, we meet the main friend group, as they begin celebrating Maia’s 27th birthday. All the plans are laid, until Alani (True Whitaker) surprises Maia with a reunion with an old friend Tallulah (Odessa A’zion), who Maia had just blocked on Instagram that morning.
This plotline makes for a funny, but also mildly uncomfortable watch as the two travel around LA, Tallulah unaware of the resentment Maia has toward her.
The first episode sets up for a great first season, as Maia juggles this renewed friendship with all of her other relationships.
From first impressions, the characters seem to be refreshingly authentic, seeing as each character has their own realistic imperfections, with a touch of LA stereotypes. Like Alani, who is the daughter of an Oscar winning director and Charlie (Jordan Firstman), the celebrity stylist who is desperately trying to climb LA’s social ladder.
Viewers are patiently waiting for the next episodes to see how the other characters will develop.
Sennott has always had an eye for humor, after starring in the break-out comedy “Shiva Baby” and co-writing and producing Prime Video comedy “Bottoms.” With her self-deprecating, unfiltered, girly humor, she knows how to get in touch with her Millennial and Gen Z audience.
Despite this, audiences seem to be very split on their reactions to the first episode, because of its specificity with the location and characters, you are not sure who to “root for” while watching. Just like in Lena Dunham’s “Girls,” each character has their own annoying, authentic traits, which makes you almost hate them, but also love them even more.
With nods to zodiac signs and the concept of “Saturn’s Return” in your late twenties, the show touches on self-discovery when you realize that life hasn’t turned out the way that you had hoped.
As Maia is a woman just entering her late twenties, the show is centered around her feeling stuck in her job as an assistant, and her life in LA. With the elements of women’s sexuality and friendships between them and queer people, there is an obvious target audience. This means that there is a larger chance that older audiences will not grasp what Sennott is going for with the creative direction.
If you liked “Overcompensating” and “Adults,” you’ll love this.
“I Love LA” has amazing potential to be the next “tight-knit friend group” show for people who grew up with the internet and are now battling with the chaotic challenges of adulthood.