Maybe if I was more unfamiliar with this cast I might have skipped out on watching I Love LA, but there is something that fascinates me about Rachel Sennott.
Watching her in interviews, I find her to be a type of person I wouldn’t like to spend time with in real life, but I think she’s a lot smarter and more creative than her voice leads you to believe. I mean, the fact that she created this show is testament to that. And I think her successes and general niceness is what helps her land such an all-star cast. In this series she plays Maia, a talent agent who is actually still trying to land talent. While she seems happy with her longtime boyfriend, Dylan, and her friends (incredibly annoying), work is the only thing causing her stress. She just can’t seem to get ahead with her fake ass boss.
That is until an old friend from college shows up at her and Dylan’s house unannounced one day. She’s social media famous, is this close to having a warrant out for her in New York, and she’s looking for somewhere to crash. At first, Maia doesn’t have much good to say about her flaky college friend, but she realizes that becoming Tallulah’s agent is just what she needs to finally get a leg up in this unforgiving industry. It also doesn’t take long for their friendship to re-strengthen to its former glory. And since she has the talent agency’s name behind her, it doesn’t seem to take much effort to start landing deals.
Honestly, Maia and Dylan are the best characters in this series. They feel like the only ones grounded in reality. At least my version of reality. Sure, Maia has her crazy moments with her friends, but she’s living a more realistic life than any of the other supporting characters combined. Alani is the daughter of a famous director and is so rich she doesn’t even realize it. Tallulah is a lot of unearned confidence. And while Charlie has a pretty good career as a stylist, he is such an obnoxious person. While he did have one great moment in the final episode of the season, it wasn’t enough to turn my opinion of him around.
After some world building, the final arc in the last half of the season focuses on Maia getting Tallulah into some famed fashion moguel’s annual dinner. Along the way there are plenty of hiccups and things I would actually strangle my friends for if they ever did, but somehow Maia is able to pull it all together without any professional fallout. However, her personal life with Dylan definitely takes a back seat. She’s clearly a different person when she’s with all of her friends, and especially Tallulah. It’s like she can’t find a balance between this two different worlds she’s inhabited.
The final episode has completely prepared us for another season, which I’m pretty confident is happening. As much as this world stresses me out, I was definitely entertained enough to keep tuning in. Not for everyone, but I had fun with it, because a Hollywood based show almost always guarantees some fun cameos (and this show delivered!).