Saagar Kote
HBO’s ‘I Love LA,’ created by Rachel Sennott, tells the story of a group of friends in LA who face complex challenges related to relationships and ambitions. At the nucleus of the narrative is Maia, who aspires to achieve greater success in her career while also maintaining a relationship with her lover, Dylan. Her life undergoes chaos when Tallulah, a former friend, enters her life again. As Tallulah starts to interfere in Maia’s life, the latter also has to balance her friendship with other people, including Charlie and Alani, who seemingly deal with their own issues.
On the professional front, Maia tries to become a junior manager, hustling to get there. She also tries to promote online campaigns to achieve more success professionally. The comedy series delves into the heart of urban America’s ambitions through an exploration of complex characters. The show sensitively navigates themes of friendship, meaning, aspiration, and relationships in the modern world.
I Love LA is a Fictional Take on Career and Friendship
Written by the aforementioned creator along with Emma Barrie, Max Silvestri, and several others, ‘I Love LA’ is a modern take on the realities of a generation. The series follows the journey of Maia, who aspires to get promoted at her workplace, but also struggles with her relationships and friendships. Her journey, along with the experiences of her friends, talks about the realities of urban struggle in competitive spaces. The show is also a reflection of LA as a modern city and the possibilities that it offers. One of the major themes the show sheds light on is the culture of hustle in online spaces, where influencers and other players try to achieve their goals.
Talking to Fader about the show’s themes, the creator Rachel Sennott, who plays Maia in the series, said, “For young people, we all came of age in such a tumultuous time during COVID either through school or entering a bad workforce. Maia is someone who grips onto control and tries to hold onto things that make her feel O.K.” The uncertainties of youth and the aspirations driving it are at the core of the series. The creator also highlights how ambition can mean different things for different people. The narrative examines the concept of ambition from multiple perspectives, highlighting the challenges of balancing expectations and reality.
Rachel also opined that friendships are relevant in the case of careers. Talking about the bond between Maia and Talulah in the show, she remarked, “Ultimately, though, they’re better when they’re together than when they’re apart. Neither of their careers would be advancing if they didn’t have each other.” The importance of healthy friendships and the way they can influence an individual’s life is a reality that is intricately represented by the story. Thus, the fictional show addresses genuine human issues while also utilizing creative liberties.
The Story is Shaped by Rachel Sennott’s Own Experiences
Although ‘I Love LA’ dramatizes real themes and presents over-the-top characters, it originates from Rachel Sennott’s life experiences. In an interview with Elle, the creator spoke about certain phases in her life, especially about something she felt was a phase similar to a “Saturn return,” which is a cosmic phenomenon that occurs every 29.5 years. Being an astronomy aficionado, the creator said, “Then I got into a relationship and I really locked into settled mode, and I was like, I’m working and I’m sleeping and I’m not really doing anything fun. Then my Saturn return came along, and that’s where all of this inspo for the show came from.” The creator’s time in New York during her early 20s and the messy parts related to the same played a role in the development of the show.
She used to be a fun-loving person, but became serious later in her life. This is how she felt that she entered a Saturn return phase, where her old self wanted to bring her back to fun. She also developed characters in the show to reflect her old and new selves. She opined, “Tallulah is a representation of my old self and Maia is kind of like me in my worst control-freak era. Hopefully, now I’m an evolved version with a little bit of both. Maia and Tallulah are better together, and I’m better when I have the balance of those two. Charlie, Alani, Dylan, they all pull out different pieces of one another. I would be completely lost without my friends.” In conclusion, the authenticity of the story and the way it represents people originates from the creator’s observations of the moments of her own life.
The Series Intertwines the Realities of Gen Z and LA
‘I Love LA,’ as the title suggests, is an exploration of the city’s hustle and bustle through the eyes of the characters. The show represents LA through multiple perspectives and specifically focuses on how Gen Z individuals perceive it. Culture isn’t a quantifiable element, which is why its representation often tends to be difficult and subject to criticism. However, the series attempts to humanize the experiences of the people, who try to survive in LA’s competitive world. At a press event, Josh Hutcherson, who plays Dylan in the series, stated, “Something I’ve always loved about L.A. is it’s a city that is made of people that aren’t from it.”
He added, “It always feels like people are drawn to this place with big dreams. And so there’s a lot of big dreamers, but also a lot of failure side by side.” The show is a take on how LA can mean different things to different people. Hustle culture, especially in the era of social media, is a challenging reality that can put pressure on individuals to achieve something in life. These anxieties and ambitions are represented by the narrative. At the same press event, Jordan Firstman, who essays Charlie in the series, spoke about how the series reflects the emotions of Gen Z.
He opined, “The ethos of a lot of what was going on in that millennial renaissance was very self-effacing,” he said. “I’m just going to rip into myself and show that I’m depressed and show my depression. Gen Z has a bit of a sillier, more fun approach, and that’s what I love about this show.” Though the issue is multilayered, the series makes a genuine attempt to portray the realities of Gen Z individuals, while also humanizing their experiences. Ultimately, the narrative is a poignant, relevant, and grounded exploration of urban culture, friendships, angst, and ambitions through unique characters and fictional plot elements.
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