The city of Los Angeles has been the subject of numerous Hollywood productions, but the new HBO comedy series "I Love LA" shines a light on two iconic elements: the Silver Lake Reservoir and Erewhon. "I love to stroll around the reservoir and chat with my friends, so it was fantastic to incorporate that into the pilot," explained creator and star Rachel Sennott at the show's premiere on Tuesday. "And Erewhon is featured, which no one has shot in Erewhon before – bragging rights. We're the first to shoot in Erewhon."
These L.A. landmarks are just two of the many highlights in the series, which follows a close-knit group of friends reuniting in the city after years apart. Odessa A’zion, Jordan Firstman, True Whitaker, Josh Hutcherson, and Leighton Meester co-star.
"It all started when I moved to L.A. during COVID and felt very isolated, going through my Saturn return," Sennott told The Hollywood Reporter. "In your early 20s, you and your friend group are all together-together, and then people start going on their own paths and you're thinking, 'Where are you guys going?'" She continued, "I was like, 'I need everyone to be here with me, please don't leave.' And I think those feelings of vulnerability, loneliness, and clinging onto my friends – that was the inspiration, that was the starting point."
Sennott pointed to "Entourage" as a "big reference" when writing the show, saying, "We were talking about this show as an 'Entourage' for internet it girls." Hutcherson added that the Adrian Grenier-led series "captured a side of L.A. in a very authentic way, and I think there are some echoes of that in our world as well."
Hutcherson, who also celebrated the reservoir's depiction because "I run around it all the time, so to see that in a beautifully shot way it was like you see, concrete and barbed wire can be beautiful!" said he fell in love with the script immediately and was a quick yes to play Sennott's boyfriend in the show. "I've been a fan of Rachel's for so long and she just brought it all on this," he said. "It's rare that I read something and I'm constantly laughing while reading, and this definitely did that."
Meester, fresh off her appearance in Nobody Wants This, plays Sennott's boss, joking, "The character breakdown was a woman in her 40s who chews loudly and coughs while talking on the phone, and I thought, that’s my dream role."
"I Love LA" premieres on Sunday on HBO.
