A codependent friend group navigates life and love in Los Angeles. With aspirations of becoming a talent manager, Maia is stalled out as an assistant while living with her boyfriend...until her longtime best friend and frenzied influencer Tallulah returns.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.9/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Metacritic: 64
TMDB: 6.9/10
Production
HBO, Bizarro Brothers, Treacly Productions
Cast
Rachel Sennott, Odessa A'zion, True Whitaker, Jordan Firstman, Josh Hutcherson
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, messy, very current LA comedy with a strong voice and a lot of social-media-era specificity. It’s worth trying if you like cringe-forward, character-driven ensemble shows, but its appeal depends on whether you enjoy abrasive, self-absorbed leads and a deliberately chaotic tone.
Best for
Viewers who like millennial/Gen Z ensemble comedies
Fans of cringe comedy and emotionally messy friendships
People drawn to LA industry satire and influencer culture
Viewers who enjoy creator-driven, voicey HBO comedies
Skip if
You prefer warm, likable characters
You want a tightly plotted sitcom with clean payoffs
You dislike secondhand embarrassment or high-volume relationship chaos
You want broad jokes over specificity and vibe
Overview
I Love LA feels built from the same cultural moment that produced a lot of internet-native, self-aware comedy: ambition, insecurity, status anxiety, and friendship as both support system and trap. The setup is strong, and Rachel Sennott’s sensibility gives it a recognizable edge — funny, brittle, and tuned to the absurdity of trying to make a life in Los Angeles while everyone is performing some version of success.
Worth noting
The show’s biggest strength is its specificity. It understands influencer culture, assistant life, creative drift, and the way codependent friendships can become their own ecosystem. That said, the characters are intentionally difficult, and the series can feel more like a vibe and a social portrait than a fully balanced comedy. If you want warmth or easy momentum, it may frustrate you.
Bottom line
As a first-season HBO comedy, it has enough voice and cultural relevance to be promising, but it’s more of a “sample and see” than an automatic binge. If the show deepens its emotional stakes without losing the bite, it could become a standout; if not, it may remain a sharply observed but uneven hangout piece.
2012 · Curator 8.5/10 (83.2K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A defining HBO comedy about messy friendship, ambition, and self-sabotage in New York, with the same willingness to make characters painfully specific and occasionally unbearable.