I Love LA: Season 1 Episode 1 – Recap and Review
“I Love LA” is perfect as a half hour, as it gives you just enough before you could start getting annoyed by the antics.
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Episode 1 “Block Her” Details
- Director(s): Lorene Scafaria
- Writer(s): Rachel Sennott
- Public Release Date (HBO Max): November 2, 2025
- Check out our page for this series, featuring more recaps, reviews, and articles.
Episode 1 “Block Her” Storylines/ Recap
27-year-old Maia moved to L.A. years ago, and while she has a job as an assistant and a cute boyfriend named Dylan, who is a teacher, she isn’t happy. Does she have friends like Alani and Charlie, who want to celebrate her birthday and who are up for pre-work morning walks? Yes. But Maia feels stuck.
Enter Talullah, who Maia was supposed to move to LA with from NYC, who Alani, who has or comes from money, flew out to LA for Maia’s birthday. Note, Maia blocked her, Charlie’s advice, for peace of mind, so this is awkward on many levels, but Maia tries to roll with it until she realizes how easily everything comes to Tallulah.
Then, add on Tallulah taking over Maia’s birthday, and it becomes too much. Granted, Maia didn’t help things by repeatedly lying about how well she is doing at work, but as Maia reveals things aren’t all sunshine and rainbows, Talullah too reveals she is broke, her rich boyfriend dumped her, and this leads to Maia and Tallulah deciding to maybe revisit their old plan.
What was the old plan? Tallulah is moving to LA, Maia is managing her, and they are making money together. Now, Dylan isn’t consulted about this, but when it comes to Maia’s boss, Alyssa, who Tallulah invited to her party, it seems bringing on Tallulah as a client could get her that Junior Manager job, so this could be a win?
Other Noteworthy Information
- Created By: Rachel Sennott
New Cast and Characters
Maia (Rachel Sennott)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Maia is a 27-year-old from the East Coast, who came to Los Angeles hoping to be a talent agent, but she ended up stuck as an assistant for Alyssa 180.
Dylan (Josh Hutcherson)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Dylan is a school teacher, Maia’s live-in boyfriend, who is initially portrayed as very ideal.
Alani (True Whitaker)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Alani comes from a privileged background where her father has an Oscar; in her network are famous actors like Robert De Niro, and overall her experience in life is very different from her friend group.
Charlie (Jordan Firstman)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Charlie is one of Maia’s friends who initially isn’t fond of Tallulah, but as he sees her in action with the public and what she naturally attracts, he comes around.
Tallulah (Odessa A’zion)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Tallulah is Maia’s infamous socialite of a friend, whom she formerly managed when they were out on the East Coast, but after a certain point, Tallulah decided to go solo and left Maia behind, and she has resented her ever since.
Alyssa (Leighton Meester)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Alyssa is the owner of the startup, Alyssa 180, and Maia’s boss.
Review and Commentary
Highlights
It Feels Shorter Than It Is [83/100]
The vibe of I Love LA, reminds you of when YouTube was churning out a steady flow of creators who put on professional productions that sometimes felt niche but also fresh. Now, in many ways, I Love LA seems very much in line with what we’ve seen from other HBO shows led by women, whether it is presenting the idea that not all nudity needs to be sexual, having a notable female perspective, and just trying to show what happens after young women come of age and are now adults trying to survive.
In pursuit of all this, I Love LA doesn’t feel bogged down by Maia’s struggles to be taken seriously at work, dealing with her relationship with Tallullah, or what feels like pending friendship trouble as you see Maia try to bridge where she wants to be, even how she wants to be perceived, with where she is. Mind you, this isn’t all done through comic relief or Sennott using the brand of comedy that led to her likely getting the show. More so, it is just I Love LA embracing an aesthetic that feels like it’s professional but isn’t trying to be the next anything – be it Girls or Insecure.
It Doesn’t Try To Toe The Line Between Annoying and Funny [82/100]
One of the things we appreciate so much with I Love LA is that, as strong a personality as Tallulah has, and Maia could be capable of, neither is put to the extremes of being an outright caricature. They are made to be notable enough for you to understand why they exist and have a camera on them, but they don’t seem like they would do anything for attention and go the extra mile to make a viral moment.
They seem human enough to make it so, as odd, maybe a bit more eccentric than most have the capacity for, they are, it is rarely to the point of being too much, and you needing to walk away or take a break to get through the episode.
On The Fence
Foreseeing Where This Could Go [75/100]
While in some ways I Love LA can feel fresh, at the same time, it also has a certain level of familiarity. Down on their luck, lead gets a sudden opportunity, which accelerates their life in such a way that may not be stable, thus complicating the life they did have, which, while good enough at the time, wasn’t necessarily what they dreamed of, and as they fly too close to the sun, everything they built falls apart.
I’m not saying this is what will happen, since I don’t have a screener for this show to even hint at how the season will end, but I wouldn’t say I Love LA feels like something that is going to create its own path. Likely, it is going to take the paved road with the occasional detour that will allow it to seem different, just because of the types of characters involved and who is playing them.
Overall
Our Overall Rating [80/100]
I Love LA feels like a TV-MA version of something FreeForm would have if Disney didn’t abandon that platform.
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