Maia (Rachel Sennott) having a moment with Tallulah (Odessa A'zion) - I Love LA Season 1 Episode 1

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I Love LA: Season 1 Details

Number of Episodes: 8
Network: HBO Max
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance, Young Adult, LGBT+
Renewal Status: Renewed
Official Site Link
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Season 1 Summary

Maia moved from New York City during the pandemic to LA to take the next step in her marketing career. She had some experience through managing her friend, Tallulah, and working as an intern under a man named Ben. However, she really gets to cut her teeth at Alyssa180. But, with Tallulah, who became estranged, coming to Los Angeles, things shifted, mostly in a positive direction, for Maia.

It should be noted, however, that I Love LA isn’t about Maia alone. There is her friend from college, Alani, the daughter of a major Hollywood actor, who is navigating friendships, relationships, and past exploitation. Charlie, a stylist, who loses a major client at the beginning of the season, and spends the rest hustling to make ends meet, and Dylan, Maia’s boyfriend, who, considering Maia’s ambitions, might be Mr. Right Now more than Mr. Right.

Review

Highlight(s)

The Growth Shown Over The Season [86/100]

We have to begin by saying, it is easy to pre-judge I Love LA based on its first few episodes. Characters can seem vapid, superficial, and that vocal fry sound can get annoying, but things shift halfway through the season, episode 4. At that point, things feel a bit more real, less satire, and it’s almost like watching Skins or a lot of shows where the first half is fun and games, and the second half is when things get real.

Alani (True Whitaker) trying to explain something - I Love LA Season 1 Episode 1 — Alani (True Whitaker) – I Love LA Season 1 Episode 1 – HBO

Alani is a prime example. As the sole lead Black character who consistently has lines and gets developed, it would be easy to believe that the most special thing about her is that she is the only one in her friend group with privilege. However, as time goes on, you realize there are layers to her. While she may joke early on about times men have exploited her, and she defends them, as you take into account who her dad is, how he met Alani’s mom, how her privilege goes beyond money, she becomes far more complicated.

I would even say, Alani not being the Black friend who can fix everyone’s problems, but being privileged, naïve to a point, seeing the good in people, yet still able and willing to hold folks accountable when they go beyond the grace she gives in abundance, makes her worth investing in. Considering the landscape of how Black characters on television are written, she is rare, almost unheard of, and without having someone to compare her to easily, it flips things from her being a potential token to a fully realized person.

Charlie is another example. As the sole out gay character on the show who is seen episode to episode, and with him into fashion, he too can be seen as a token character and potential stereotype on top of that. But, as they introduce a character named Lukas in episode 4 (which, again, is a major turning point in the show), things change. It is through Lukas that we get a sense that there is more to Charlie than meets the eye. He is used to a certain level of abuse, degradation, and drama, mainly in the form of gossip. Be it at work or even with his friends, it seems he lives, as many queer people have to, where you have to be sharp, live by the best defense is an active offense, to survive.

Yet, with Lukas and Dylan, who reinforce this, we see a softer side to Charlie. One who is as vulnerable as Alani can be, but without the money, without the network she has, he can’t be naïve. He has to sometimes make himself small, non-threatening, yet with a sharp enough tongue at times to keep people from thinking he won’t bite back.

Characters not meeting their preconceived notions expand beyond these two, but their growth is perhaps the most notable, hence the special highlight.

Charlie and Dylan’s Relationship [84/100]

Charlie (Jordan Firstman) reacting to Talullah rejecting his bagels - I Love LA Season 1 Episode 1 — Charlie (Jordan Firstman) – I Love LA Season 1 Episode 1 – HBO

But, if I may double down on Charlie and Dylan’s relationship, what I love about these two is that, if you didn’t know better, you’d think Charlie and Dylan were friends before Maia and Dylan got together. There is this cute, almost brotherly relationship between them, and while it may have some teasing and awkwardness to it, I credit that to Charlie’s life experience.

For if there is one thing you come to realize about Charlie, it is that, unfortunately, it seems that his relationships that aren’t sexual with men are generally transactional. Dylan is different. He can lie on Dylan’s lap, talk about issues he is having with his ex, and even be an ear for Dylan regarding his issues with Maia.

It creates one of the cutest platonic relationships on the show, and perhaps one of the few that doesn’t have you questioning the motive of one person or the other.

Tessa and Tallulah [83/100]

As for romantic relationships, there are only two seen throughout the show. One is Maia and Dylan, but the other is Tessa and Tallulah. I’d submit you’ll be far more interested in Tessa and Tallulah, and not because they are young, hot, make out, and have graphic sex scenes. Only Charlie has gay sex scenes, and he likely has the most of anyone on the show.

Tessa (Moses Ingram) – I Love LA Season 1 Episode 3 – HBO

Tessa and Tallulah, rather, bring the kind of love, affection, and understanding, queer or not, you’d want from your relationship. Add in trips together, Tessa being the most mature character of the show, with her own business, and you will want, NEED, to see more of Tessa in season two, be it separated from everyone else, doing her own thing, or see all the things her and Tallulah do as a couple away from Maia and the rest of the gang.

Low Point(s)

The Season’s Ending – Specifically Regarding Where Maia and Dylan End [64/100]

Episode 8 is a bit of a mixed bag. Yes, we meet Alani’s parents, and Charlie has a big boy moment by communicating with his ex and reconciling. However, Maia and Dylan, after a fight they have in episode 7, go places that are frustrating.

In terms of Maia’s job, she gets Tallulah into a fancy party in episode 7, but episode 8 doesn’t show Tallulah or Maia at said party. It shows them on their way, and that is immensely exasperating. Especially considering the state of Maia’s career as the season ends, and how much she needs this party to go well for her career and Tallulah’s.

However, the major issue is going to be what Maia and Dylan do, which jeopardizes the future of their relationship. Yes, they are on a “break” when the season ends, but you can foresee them getting back together and a slew of arguments carrying throughout season 2. Which, if we’re lucky, will lead to a breakup early on, but there are no promises there.

Though what we hate the most about what is done is that, particularly for Dylan, it seems out of character. In fact, even if said jokingly, if you listen to creator, writer, and co-showrunner Rachel Sennott, it almost seems like what Dylan does in the finale is to take him down a notch so he won’t be so likable and can be seen as more on Maia’s level.

On The Fence

Tessa and Dylan Can Feel Like They Didn’t Keep Up, Development Wise [74/100]

When it comes to Dylan and Tessa, a part of me questions if they came off so likable because they weren’t given the chance to be three-dimensional? Both came off older than their counterparts, surer of who they were and settled in their career, and it often felt like their actors’ presence was supposed to make up for character development.

Dylan (Josh Hutcherson) asking for advice on which shirt to pick - I Love LA Season 1 Episode 1 — Dylan (Josh Hutcherson) – I Love LA Season 1 Episode 1 – HBO

Though, in Dylan’s defense, it could be submitted that the reason he may have felt stale is that Maia was largely uninterested in becoming equally integrated in his life as he was expected to be in hers. She avoided getting to know his co-workers, skipped dinner with his parents, and while she did participate in a school fair he was doing, she stuck to his table, especially after one interaction with a parent that scared her off.

Tessa, on the other hand, there isn’t as much of an excuse. We see her at her business when she is introduced, know she has been successful enough to be on daytime television, doing a cooking demonstration in the style of a Hamilton rap. Yet, for the most part, she is perfect. The one sole thing she ever did wrong was help Tallulah deface her Ritz marketing campaign, since Tallulah didn’t like being the poster child for gay people, since she isn’t really into labels.

Which, by the way, as much as that could have caused tension, didn’t. Tessa, with all her patience, rolled with it, didn’t question Tallulah or their relationship, and was just her rock through that period. Leaving you loving Tessa, without question, but also needing to ask, if you got to really know her, see how she is as a boss, how she is around friends and family, would she still be as lovable?

Maia’s Career At Alyssa180 Before Tallulah Showed Up [73/100]

Maia, in episode 1, is trying to get on the Junior Manager track at Alyssa180 and presents herself as one of the hardest workers there. The problem with this is, once Tallulah shows up, Maia is all in regarding Tallulah, and considering Alyssa180’s bread and butter is influencers, it makes you wonder why none of them asked what happened to Maia?

In my mind, she likely got deals for them, raised their profile, or else, why would Maia seek a promotion? Yes, she is notably ambitious, but she isn’t stupid – she keeps the score. Maia has never portrayed herself as someone entitled and thinks she should be handed anything. So, with that in mind, why didn’t anyone she worked with speak about her work, the results, and question why she was working exclusively for one person, when she should be supporting multiple clients? Especially since it was made clear Alyssa did have her favorites.

Tallulah Wasn’t All That Interesting – She Was Just Attractive [71/100]

Tallulah – I Love LA Season 1 Episode 6 – HBO

I don’t think it would be rude to say Tallulah wasn’t that great a character. If you’ve seen Odessa A’zion’s other work, from Grand Army to the recent Marty Supreme, her joining I Love LA seems more like an opportunity for a steady check than to stretch her acting muscles. For while, yes, she was interesting initially as she created chaos in Maia’s world and beefed with a fellow influencer named Paulena, she experienced the opposite of what everyone else did with episode 4.

Episode 4 for Tallulah, when she realized from Quenlin Blackwell what it took to be one of the top influencers, seemingly broke her. From that point, it seemed she got quieter, faded more into the background, and while her outfits were still notably revealing, there was less personality on display.

I would even go so far as to say, despite what little we learned about Tessa, she sometimes eclipsed Tallulah. Which is strange considering Tallulah is the talent, the influencer, who Maia’s riding her career on, yet she is the least interesting series regular on the show. Who, by the way, unlike most, didn’t really evolve much over the course of the season.

Overall

Our Rating (76/100): Mixed (Stick Around)

The main issue most may have with I Love LA is that, like so many freshman shows, especially in the streaming age, it operates as if it doesn’t have a wealth of competition out there for your viewership. It takes nearly half the season to get to a point where at least half of the characters are worth investing in, and the way it ends for the lead character is immensely unsatisfying.

Add in Tallulah is supposed to be so intriguing that Maia bets her career on her, and yet she isn’t much more than pretty, and sometimes loud, and there are fixable, but easy to define problems. You can even add in damaging Dylan’s character to make him less of a saint, avoiding developing Tessa, since what little screen time she does get makes you want immensely more, and you get a show that, again, can easily fix its problems. But with that said, with them being so easy to identify, you have to question, between the executives and those part of the show, why weren’t they handled before filming started?

Check Out Our Coverage Of This Season

For episodic recaps, and a bit more details than what is given here regarding certain aspects we liked, critiqued, and were on the fence about, check out our coverage of the season below.