REVIEW: Rachel Sennott’s Hilarious Gen Z Satire ‘I Love LA’ Explores Life, Love And Influence
- Christopher Mills
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
There are going to be comparisons made to Lena Dunham's Girls, which also aired on HBO, but what helps Rachel Sennott's I Love LA stand out is that it comes from a completely different generation and keeps its focus on how influencers operate and how our appearance on social media controls almost every aspect of our lives.
It's a safe assumption to make that Rachel Sennott is without a doubt an IT girl, as she's highlighted her stylish lifestyle on Instagram and has also risen as a star from her debut in Shiva Baby to comedies such as Bodies Bodies Bodies and Bottoms. She's displayed range with her acting, taking on a slightly more dramatic role with I Used to Be Funny and playing characters based off real people, such as in Saturday Night. Sennott has shown that she's capable of it all.
After co-writing Bottoms with Emma Seligman and delivering a high-school comedy classic, she returns with I Love LA, a show that she's created for HBO which displays the LA lifestyle, friendships, relationships and the social commentary on influencing.
I Love LA follows Maia (Rachel Sennott), who's trying to make a life for herself at a talent agency but has failed to catch the attention of her boss. Her life changes when her best friend-turned-enemy-turned-back-to-best-friend, Tallulah (Odessa A'zion), arrives in LA for her birthday, giving her the chance to represent an up-and-coming influencer, gaining her the traction she needs at her job to rise up. Maia and Tallulah's relationship is constantly put to the test as they occasionally blur the lines between friends and work. They navigate life alongside their friends Alani (True Whitaker) and Charlie (Jordan Firstman), respectively, a nepo baby who has been given the title "VP" (only in name) at her father's production company who also works as an actor, and a stylist who's simply trying to get by and figure out their relationships.
Episode 1 opens up with Maia and her boyfriend, Dylan (Josh Hutcherson) celebrating her birthday with some good old-fashioned birthday sex, which Maia is completely lost in despite Dylan freaking out that there's an earthquake, which his seismology app has confirmed. She wants to continue going, stating that "if we're going to die, I just want to cum," and this entire scene sets the tone for what to expect from Maia as a character and for her arc, as she's someone who's determined to push further and get what she wants but is too stubborn to achieve what she wants any other way that isn't her own way.
Josh Hutcherson is phenomenal as Dylan; he doesn't get much screentime compared to the rest of the characters, but his character helps ground the series a little bit as he acts as the normal person in the friend group. He's a teacher, enjoys reading (The Third Reich, specifically), loves to play board games and cook, and overall is just the pitch-perfect boyfriend anybody could ask for. Dylan is the complete opposite of everyone around him and gets swept into Maia's chaotic life whenever she's around, and the show dives into how Dylan continuously stays supportive of her decisions but fails to have that energy feel reciprocated. It's a dynamic that balances out the group and is needed to help tone down the chaos that everyone else brings.
The entire cast of characters in I Love LA are lovable, but honestly, they are the most annoying bunch that you will come across, as they get themselves into situations that only dig them a deeper hole. The beauty of this show is that Rachel Sennott is able to tap into the humanity of LA and its characters, allowing them to grow from their mistakes and not feel like complete idiots the entire way (although deep down they always will be). Sennott takes the lead as the main character, and she's always fun to watch, but I Love LA has an ensemble cast that complements each other rather well and is filled with some of the funniest actors we could come across.
Odessa A'zion steals the spotlight in I Love LA as she plays an over-exaggerated influencer who's still trying to grasp an understanding of the world. A'zion's chemistry with Sennott is impeccable, with no one being able to get between the two, even when they're at their rock bottom, and while Tallulah is a character that's outrageously hilarious and feels too connected with her phone and social media, she begins to feel like a grounded character that's more in tune with reality when she comes across a chef (Moses Ingram) that allows her to truly be herself and disconnect from the rest of the world.
True Whitaker, in her debut role, highlights that she's able to share the screen presence with actors who have had much more experience, perfectly portraying a character that's too kind for her own good and lacks self-awareness, still landing some great jokes alongside Jordan Firstman, who plays a character who quite literally has one of the worst gaydars in the world (or perhaps LA is just filled with extremely sexy men who just appear to be gay) and displays the most emotional range with his character as he balances his struggling relationships, social life and endeavors to find job security.
I Love LA is at its best when it makes a parody of the influencer culture, especially during episode 4, which features Quen Blackwell playing a fictionalised version of herself, which explores the grievances of getting the perfect video made for TikTok or farming clicks to work the algorithm. This show has it all and highlights the chokehold that social media has over us and how it can control the way some people behave. This show isn't a Curb Your Enthusiasm or Entourage, but it does have its fair share of celebrity cameos that will surprise you, which we won't ruin here but are great additions to the show and can promise will have you pointing and whistling at your screen like the famous Leonardo DiCaprio meme.
It's hard to believe that I Love LA is Rachel Sennott's first show, as she delivers a show that's witty, remarkable, heartfelt and genuinely one of the best comedies to debut this year next to The Studio. The jokes surrounding the city of LA might go over some people's heads depending on their knowledge or where they're from, but it won't take away from their enjoyment of the series. It has a cast of characters that are relatable to the younger generation that can't help but have their lives dictated by their phones and social media. While some characters lack screentime, they all feel three-dimensional and have the depth to be memorable and have landed their mark in Sennott's first landmark season of I Love LA, which we'd be happy to have five more seasons of.
Rating: ★★★★1/2
About I Love LA
Premiere Date:Â November 2, 2025
Episode Count:Â 8
Showrunner: Rachel Sennott
Writer: Rachel Sennott
Directors: Lorene Scafaria
Executive Producers: Rachel Sennott, Emma Barrie, Aida Rodgers, Lorene Scafaria, Max Silvestri, Michael Seitzman, Jason Blum
Production:Â Pasta Pasta, Maniac Productions, Blumhouse Television, HBO Entertainment
Distribution:Â HBO Max
Cast:Â
Logline:A codependent friend group reunites, navigating how the time apart, ambition and new relationships have changed them.