24 min read
Every generation has a chaos show—a cultural artifact that captures the vulnerability and specific humor of right now, whenever that “now” might be. In 2012, it was Girls. In 2016, it was Insecure. (Both distributed by HBO.) Now, in 2025, the network has a contender for Gen Z: the deeply unhinged new series for the chronically online, I Love LA.
Created by and starring writer/actor/comedian/director Rachel Sennott, the script is a love letter to the messy in-between years where friends are soulmates, everyone’s finances are a secret, and social media is therapy with a comments section.
Rachel plays Maia, an overworked and under-promoted junior staffer with big dreams, a chip on her shoulder, and two best friends who are simultaneously helping and hindering her growth. Those friends are Tallulah (Odessa A’zion), the maximalist wild card in a constant state of living off her last brand deal, and Alani (True Whitaker), the group’s glowing ride-or-die whose industry daddy’s deep pockets cover the checks. Add in Charlie (Jordan Firstman), the live wire in a losing race to be steps ahead of everyone, and Dylan (Josh Hutcherson), Maia’s adoring and stable Spanish-teacher boyfriend, and you’ve got a wildly charming ensemble that hums with charisma and chemistry.
After their beachside shoot, the cast sat down for an interview over takeout sushi and beer, which quickly turned into something closer to an unfiltered dinner party. What unfolded was a candid conversation about class tension, social identity, code-switching between generations, the pressures of keeping up, and how I Love LA uses sex, style, and sibling-level loyalty to paint a portrait of young adulthood that’s deeply specific yet recognizable.
Here’s what happened when Cosmopolitan joined the group chat.
I want to talk about the title of the show. It was under wraps for so long that everyone got used to calling it the Untitled Rachel Sennott Project. Was the nod to the “I
Rachel Sennott: Definitely. I moved to LA from New York, and for so long I was like, “I hate LA, I hate LA, I hate LA. I’m going back to New York. It’s such a big part of my identity.” Moving here was hard. And these characters, like so many people in real life, all have different perspectives on that push and pull between the two coasts. We’re perpetuating the beef.
True Whitaker: HBO showed us a little list, and asked us, “Yea or nay?” and we definitely had a big “yea” for I Love LA.
How are you hoping to make LA—which can often, as an industry city, feel very inside baseball—appeal to the masses?
Rachel Sennott: We’re showing a hyper-specific corner of it. We’re just one friend group, so we’re definitely not representing all of LA. We’re not a monolith.
Jordan Firstman: I am.
But LA is not!
Josh Hutcherson: What really works is how quickly you understand the characters in this show.
Rachel Sennott: Hopefully, we’ve created characters that viewers can really see themselves in and be like, “Okay, you’re being so Charlie right now” or “Oh, you’re having a Tallulah moment” or “I’m feeling very Alani today.”1
1. Cheat codes, for the uninitiated: If you’re being a Charlie, you’re acting horny. Being a Tallulah means everything’s going your way, and feeling Alani is embracing your most optimistic self.
Jordan Firstman: Some of the jokes have a certain LA specificity, but there’s a layer of emotional truth to them. Like, yeah, you might not know what Courage Bagels is, but you’re going to understand why Charlie is upset that no one’s eating them. If you get something for your friend’s birthday and they don’t eat it, you’re going to be mad. A lot of shows that are based in LA tend to be very industry, but ours leans more internet-y.
Rachel: That’s our window in.
This story is part of Cosmo’s Online Issue2 and I’m curious how heavily you leaned on the internet to influence the script.
Josh Hutcherson: Jordan’s got the books for this, man.
Odessa A’zion: The books!
Jordan Firstman: These characters are internet people. Right now, especially for Gen Z, that’s so universal. You don’t need to live anywhere in particular to know what’s going on. It’s a language that Rachel has written in the show. There are jokes about how Tallulah is not trying to be an actress—she thinks that’s cringe. We’re playing with the fact this isn’t an industry show. It’s what LA has become since the influencer takeover.
True Whitaker: Being Gen Z myself, the internet influences every single aspect of my day-to-day life. We have our own language that we can reference almost universally at this point.
2. To read more from the Online Issue, head this way.
These characters are so online. Phones were practically glued to everyone’s hands.
True Whitaker: I mean, it’s the 21st century—we always have our phone in our hands. They weren’t our real phones though. They were props. If you were to take a picture of the people outside the window right now, a majority of them would have their phone in their hand. People are always online. Even if they’re operating in the real world, they’re still connected to what’s going on on the internet.
Jordan Firstman: Also, sorry, but it’s such a trope that only young people are on their phones. These boomer-ass bitches live on their phone.3
3. Jordan is right. A 2025 report indicates half of baby boomers spend 3+ hours on their phones every day.
Josh Hutcherson: My mom’s screen time is probably 10 times mine.
Odessa A’zion: 10 times?!
Rachel Sennott: Can I take this moment to go on the record as a cusp who is non–Gen Z? Can I just say it before anyone says, “She thinks she is younger than she is.” I’m going on record as old.
True Whitaker: Old? Well, that’s ridiculous.
Jordan: No, no! You’re medium.
Odessa A’zion: Yeah, you’re medium.
Jordan Firstman: But it is important to note we only have two Gen Z actors.
Josh Hutcherson: I’m a hardcore millennial.
Shirt Brunello Cucinelli, bra and underwear Cou Cou Intimates.
Coat Polo Ralph Lauren, swimsuit and boots Hermès.
Cusp is valid though! There are micro generations. I always say if you are the oldest of your siblings born in 1996, you are Gen Z, no question. But if you’re born in 1996 with older siblings born in the late ’80s or early ’90s, you’re going to have millennial influences. Do you all think the show is more Gen Z or millennial?
Josh Hutcherson: [My character] Dylan doesn’t speak Gen Z, I don’t think.
But he understands it, no?
Josh Hutcherson: He works with preteens. But even still, in my mind, half the shit that is talked about in front of Dylan goes over his head.
I love the way this show illustrates how generations interface with one another. Tallulah’s conversation with Maia’s boss4 couldn’t be more different than Maia’s talks with her peers. Everyone is code-switching in a way.
Odessa A’zion: Tallulah code-switches a lot. She’s very manipulative.
Jordan Firstman: Tallulah does that Gen Z thing where they’ll come into an office and be like, “This is what’s happening. Either you’re in or you’re out.” There’s a crassness about them.
True Whitaker: Yeah, we do. But it works.
Rachel Sennott: What will feel most generational about the show is how our characters’ adult lives have been shaped by global chaos. Like, imagine graduating college during COVID and then entering a workforce that barely exists. It put a lot of people behind. Maia’s still an assistant at 27, going, “What the fuck?” And it’s not because she’s not trying.
There’s also this feeling of waiting for older people to offer you opportunities and realizing they’re not going to. It’s your friends who end up giving you the push. That’s been my experience. Pretty much every opportunity I’ve had has come through collaboration with a friend.
4. Who plays Maia’s boss? That would be none other than Leighton Meester.
We’re in an era where one 27-year-old might be hitting their stride, making real money, while another is still an assistant, begging for a promotion. And this series addresses financial inequity in a way I haven’t seen before. Usually, ensemble casts are either all successful or all broke. This is one of a few shows where not everyone is earning the same—and no one’s saying it out loud. Talk to me about tapping into that truth, which is one most people don’t even want to address.
True Whitaker: Because it’s uncomfortable.
Odessa A’zion: Everyone’s putting on a face.
Jordan Firstman: We’re all posturing. Everyone’s pretending to be at the same level when they’re not. Maia is making a dinner reservation at a restaurant she can’t afford, Tallulah has a Balenciaga bag, and we’re all having these meals we can’t pay for. Except Alani…
Rachel Sennott: …is paying for everyone.
True Whitaker: With no actual job. It’s all from her family.
What I love is that as a viewer it doesn’t ever dawn on me that any of the friends are using her. Because they aren’t. She’s a ride-or-die who just happens to have money.
True Whitaker: That’s Alani. Her role in the show is to take care of her friends. Not just financially—which she does because she has that financial flexibility—but to just be there for them however she can.
Jordan Firstman: Alani is such an interesting character, especially with the nepo conversation happening. She’s such a nice person who’s actually using what she’s been given to make sure her friends live a good life.
Sweater Polo Ralph Lauren.
And then there’s Tallulah, who everyone in the friend group believes has a bunch of money she’s made on brand deals—specifically one with Heaven by Marc Jacobs—which she later admits she’s already blown through.
Odessa A’zion: I mean, I do that every single time I get a job in real life. Literally! When we started the show, I had no money in my account. I was in the red. And then we started the show, and the money came back. But then you have to pay for stuff and then it’s gone again. It’s this cycle that happens to me a lot.
Jordan Firstman: It’s modern life. Modern life is so expensive.
Odessa A’zion: It’s so expensive.
True Whitaker: Yeah, it is. Because there’s this concept of having to keep up appearances in this industry. We have to show up to events dressed to the nines. You get some money, then you have to throw it back out at stuff because our generation feels this need to present ourselves in the most glamorous, glitzy ways when in reality, it’s usually not what’s happening.
Rachel Sennott: I think there’s a bit of nihilistic, like, “Fuck it, I’m just going to spend the money when I get it, because I’m never going to be able to buy a house” attitude. It’s hard to watch the news and not just want to put a Band-Aid on things.
Jordan Firstman: I’m busting my ass; I’m going to get fucking sushi.
Rachel Sennott: Also the ages of the characters in the show is important because we look at how everybody makes big life decisions in their early 20s almost privately. You get toward the end of your 20s and all of a sudden, it’s like, How am I not in the same place as someone I graduated from college with? How do they have a job and I don’t? But what you don’t realize is that every day, that person was waking up at 6 a.m. and going out looking. You don’t see that part. And it’s almost like, “Wait a second, I didn’t know you were doing that.”
I had a friend who would never go out to dinner. Anytime we’d go out, they would be like, “I can’t pay, I’m broke.” So I would always pick up the check. But then they were like, “I’m saving to buy this, and I have a 401(k).” And I was like, “Wait a second…”
Jordan Firstman: “I’m paying, so she can save?”
Rachel Sennott: Yeah, like, “Should I not be going to dinner?”
Jordan Firstman: But also, “I’m paying so you can contribute to a 401(k)?”
Josh Hutcherson: I bet that’s a nice 401(k).
Rachel Sennott: What you realize is everyone’s doing a different thing. In the beginning, at school or whatever, you’re this group that’s in it together. And then everyone starts making their individual life choices and you’re like, “Hold on, guys. When are we having babies? Is anyone getting married? Are we keeping our jobs? Are we quitting? Which coast are we living on?” All of that.5
5. Mid-conversation, Odessa turned to Rachel and said, “Sorry, Rachel, you have such sexy beach hair right now. You look so good.” (She was right.)
On True: Sweater Brunello Cucinelli. On Jordan: Sweater J.Crew, necklace (worn throughout) Gabriela Artigas. On Rachel: Cardigan Polo Ralph Lauren, ring Gabriela Artigas. On Odessa: Sweater MM6 Maison Margiela. On Josh: Sweater Polo Ralph Lauren.
But no matter where people are on their spending or saving journey, everyone always finds a way to rally. I love how in the pilot these characters are all hustling to make this perfect night happen for Maia’s birthday. And how even though Tallulah doesn’t have money she’s able to use her social currency in a way that’s beneficial to the entire friend group. She’s like Mr. Magoo, fumbling her way through life but always sticking the landing.
Odessa A’zion: I had a really hard time playing Tallulah. I feel so different from who she is as a person. Morally, how she presents herself, how she talks, I don’t feel like I relate to her. But I got into the flow and began to understand her thought process and why she’s always code-switching—in front of her friends, even! Her voice with Maia versus Alani, she talks differently. It was so weird and out of my fucking comfort zone.
Josh Hutcherson: You just do it.
Odessa A’zion: You really do. And that’s something I had to live by, playing this character. Posing for a photo with my tits pushed out, wearing crazy heels. It’s so not me, but I had to fully jump in and immerse myself in it.
Did anyone else have a hard time relating to their character?
True Whitaker: I had an amazing time playing Alani. We obviously have parallels in our lives. Like yeah, I’m the daughter of someone famous in the industry.6 I’m a nepo actor. But Alani allowed me to play a version of myself that was almost…airy. I wouldn’t say my life has been traumatic, but I’ve lost my mother. Things have happened that have caused me to be a little more jaded or a little less enthusiastic than I used to be. But Alani was freeing. Playing her felt like a load had been lifted. Alani has gone through shit, too, but the way that she communicates and deals with it is inspiring to me because the trauma that she’s gone through has never allowed her to become bitter.
6. That would be Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, if you’re curious.
I can’t wait to learn about her trauma. Right now she’s such a light!
Rachel Sennott: It’s coming.
Odessa A’zion: Alani is such a beautiful character. And like Alani, you’re a very loyal and supportive friend. You see the best in people.
True Whitaker: I do feel like we all started to pull a lot of inspiration from our actual personalities.
How much of this would you say is based on real life? This script is a prime example of how writing what you know really pays off.
Rachel Sennott: I’m someone who started out doing stand-up and publishing my thoughts on Twitter, and I would directly spit out what was happening in my life as it was happening.7 And with this show, I’ve been able to similarly draw on personal stuff but expand on it with a bunch of amazing writers who also have their own stories and opinions and perspectives which helps expand this world. We’re definitely drawing on some real-world experiences and personality traits.
I am in love with every person here. These are amazing actors and they all are so special and funny and unique in their own way. And when we’re writing scenes, we would be like, “Oh my god, you can just see Jordan saying that line.” Or like, “Oh my god, True with her Margiela Tabis…”
7. Some gems from the graveyard of Rachel’s Twitter account? “Total princess vibes on set today meaning I am wearing Uggs and have a UTI” and, famously, “If I ever go on Seth Meyers I’m going to tell him that I gave my first blowjob to a guy who was an intern there and I picked him bc I thought interning at Seth Meyers was cool.” (Which she did!)
Jordan Firstman: Spoiler: There are Tabis!
Josh Hutcherson: Damnit, Rachel.
Rachel Sennott: Oh, fuck. Well, it’s coming, episode 2. Alani’s got Tabis.
True Whitaker: Spoiling the whole show.
Rachel Sennott: The fact is, we got to the place in the writers’ room where we would read the lines out loud and just know.
Odessa A’zion: I think it helps when you have not just the characters in your mind while writing but the people who are playing those characters. The script felt super tailored in that way.
Jordan Firstman: I mean, the pilot in general was really hard to film because we didn’t really know what we were doing yet.
Josh Hutcherson: We were still setting the tone.
Jordan Firstman: The pilot is a bit more grounded and then it gets a little more hype-y as the show goes on. It remains grounded, but there are jokes every line, and we had to be like, “Do we play these as a comedy or do we play them real?” I think we figured it out pretty quickly, but finding it in the beginning was a journey.
In that experimentation, were there a lot of improvisational moments?
Jordan Firstman: Never. No improv ever.
Odessa A’zion: No, we had so much freedom, which is a gift that you’re not usually given, especially on projects that aren’t comedies. And we got lucky enough to work with a cast where every single person—
Jordan Firstman: —can do it. And really knows how to improvise.
Odessa A’zion: And can bounce off of each other. We were dying laughing all the time.
True Whitaker: Everyone has truly put their own spin on every delivery. I got to watch actual geniuses at work. The way these guys approached their work was incredible. I really feel like we all put our pussies in that shit.
Sweater Bode, boxers ERL.
Jordan Firstman: I also think that Rachel writes from such a place of love. When I first read the scripts, as someone who has known her for eight years now, I was like, “Oh my god, she is doing me so right, and she sees the deepness in me.” My character goes through a lot of shit. But that, to me, was the greatest way she could show me love, because she knows I want to go there. I want to express deeper parts of myself through my work. She gave us really meaty characters, all while still delivering the archetypes a successful TV show needs.
Her writing comes from such a deep place of care, which made the entire experience so rewarding. Even if there were times where I felt like, “Oh god” or I knew there was one thing she used from my real life that I’m like, “This is going to be really embarrassing for me,” I was ultimately like, “Let her do it.”
Rachel Sennott: I texted first!
Jordan Firstman: And I was like, “Yeah, let her do it.” Because I trust the journey she’s taking these characters on, and she’s not trying to humiliate us. She’s trying to help us. I worked in the writers’ room on a show that I won’t name, but they would seek to humiliate people they knew. They would be like, “This bitch is so annoying, let’s write this in to humiliate her.”
Odessa A’zion: Okay, so…that’s crazy. Oh my god. Holy shit.
Jordan Firstman: A lot of TV comedy writers are very insecure and competitive. So sometimes the scripts can feel like some sort of retaliation.
Odessa A’zion: An attack.
Jordan Firstman: But Rachel doesn’t write from a bitter place at all. She writes about things that interest and excite her and make her laugh.
Rachel Sennott: I know Tabis and trauma.
Sweater MM6 Maison Margiela.
Shirt R13, boxers Hermès.
You can tell that this was a blast to film and everyone trusts Rachel with their lives, but were there any scenes that were harder to do than others?
Odessa A’zion: We all genuinely love each other and love hanging out with each other.
Jordan Firstman: And I know every cast says that, but we mean it. We really are—
True Whitaker: —a chosen family, it’s a blessing.
Odessa A’zion: That doesn’t happen a lot. Nobody feuded, and if we did, it was like a sister fight.
Rachel Sennott: And it was squashed so fast.
Odessa A’zion: Like daughters on their way home in the back seat of the car.
True Whitaker: And I’m, like, active in the group chat as soon as I’m away from you guys.
What is the group chat called?
True Whitaker: We Love LA.
Odessa A’zion: I made it. Thank you. Taking the credit.
Rachel Sennott: Then we have The Real Girls.
Jordan Firstman: Without Dylan.
Odessa A’zion: Which I also named! I’m the group chat namer.
Josh Hutcherson: What? Wow. That chat better be fucking crickets.
Jordan Firstman: We never use it.
Rachel Sennott: Aww, Josh. We made it before you were hired!
Odessa A’zion: And then our Instagram group chat is We Kind Of Like It Here. And I also named that, thank you, ma’am.
Rachel Sennott: We Kind Of Like It Here, like in Annie. But you wanted to know which scenes were harder to write, right?
Yes, please.
Rachel Sennott: I feel like [REDACTED]8
8. Rachel immediately spilled a massive, HBO-embargoed forbidden spoiler to the shock and horror of every single one of her castmates and the accompanying studio representative.
I don’t think I was supposed to know that!
Rachel Sennott: Oh my god, I’m so wrong for that.
Josh Hutcherson: Rachel, you’re going to be a fucking nightmare on the press tour. Strike it, strike it, strike it!
Rachel Sennott: Holy shit. So yeah, that was a joke.
True Whitaker: Someone take her beer away!
Rachel Sennott: Okay. Pause, rewind. I’m sorry.
Jordan Firstman: And we were nervous about the Tabis.
Josh Hutcherson: Good times.
Rachel Sennott: I’m really sorry.
Odessa A’zion: We gotta PR-train this bitch.
Rachel Sennott: So the opening sex scene was hard. That was a hard scene to craft.
True Whitaker: I’m crying.
Odessa A’zion: Rachel, it’s okay.
Rachel Sennott: That was a hard scene!
This is Cosmo, so I do have to ask: How did you approach the sex scenes?9 Because we open the pilot on one and it’s somewhat comedic but still very raw and real. It wasn’t pornographic and felt like an honest representation of how real couples actually have sex.
Rachel Sennott: It wasn’t? I’m pretty sure that was porn. That was supposed to be porn, so…
Josh Hutcherson: I was going for porno sex. There goes that career!
Rachel Sennott: Shit.
Josh Hutcherson: We worked with an intimacy coordinator, which was super helpful. I’ve been in situations where there isn’t one and it’s awkward—the scenes take longer to shoot and someone is always uncomfortable. It sucks. But having one for this show made it so we could perform at the highest level. They talk you through the shot list and they have separate discussions with each actor to take stock of everyone’s comfort levels and ensure we’re not feeling any pressure. And they call the director to find out what they’re trying to accomplish. There are these little separate negotiations that help us land on a finished product everyone feels good about. It just feels like the best way to do it.
9. We do love a sex scene. In 2025, Cosmo even launched “Long Live the Sex Scene,” a special project exploring why steamy TV and movie moments matter more than ever.
On Josh: Shirt Polo Ralph Lauren, boxers CDLP, necklace Josh’s own. On True: Shirt Brunello Cucinelli, bra and underwear Cou Cou Intimates. On Rachel: Dress Balenciaga, underwear Araks. On Odessa: Shirt R13, boxers Hermès. On Jordan: Shirt Ferragamo, boxers CDLP.
Rachel Sennott: You learn so much about people’s relationships from the way they’re having sex. It’s an immediate way to track where a couple is at and who each person is. All of the sex scenes we’ve written really serve a purpose. We’re telling the audience something interesting about the characters involved and making it feel real and funny, without being schticky or gross.
Josh Hutcherson: In the pilot, the sex scene is comical because of what’s happening, but what immediately follows is Maia talking to Dylan about Chipotle. There’s a great balance between nudity being hot and also just—
Rachel Sennott: Real. And weird. Yes.
Josh Hutcherson: We’re a couple who lives together—it’s realistic for her to be talking to me topless without it feeling sexually charged.
It’s true intimacy!
Jordan Firstman: Charlie has some porno sex. Well, maybe a little more…porn light.
A little more uninhibited than their safe-in-bed sex?
Jordan Firstman: It’s gay guy sex.
Say less. Like Rachel said, it is indicative of who he is as a person and where he’s at in life. It does not surprise me that your character has that coming—
Odessa A’zion: —no pun intended.
—because it’s clear that Charlie is the devil on Maia’s shoulder, Alani is the angel, and those dynamics will for sure leak into their personal lives.
Jordan Firstman: There’s definitely going to be leaking.
Rachel Sennott: Oh, we leak.
Odessa A’zion: Lots of leaking.
True Whitaker: There will be lots and lots of leaking. But it’s true what you said about the devil and angel thing. Alani’s not just Maia’s friend, she’s her sister.
The show deals with the complexities of female friendship so beautifully. There’s this undying devotion to one another but also this silent competition.
Odessa A’zion: Very, very sisterly.
Rachel Sennott: In the past, I’ve been someone who’s afraid that people don’t love me as much as I love them, and I think I wrote Maia as someone who gives a certain amount of energy with the expectation that it will be reciprocated. And that’s not always fair. But that’s why Maia is projecting a lot. Like Maia, I would be nothing without my friends. I feel like they’ve shaped me into the person I am today, and they continue to do so. And even if there’s a little bit of tension, ultimately anytime I’ve ever had any sort of disagreement with them, I come out closer.
Maia, Tallulah, and Alani are all parts of me, which is why their dynamic works. Maia is the obsessive control freak part of me. Tallulah is that younger version of me who used to live in New York. And Alani is my sensitive side, my Cancer moon.
True Whitaker: I have a Cancer moon, too!
Rachel Sennott: We lead with our emotions on our sleeve and then people think we’re ditzy, but we’re just feeling really hard.
True Whitaker: Exactly how it feels.
Rachel Sennott: During my Saturn Return, I was really in my Maia era. And when my life got shaken up again, my Alani would come out and I’d be crying in public. Or my Tallulah would show and and I’d be doing poppers and getting drunk. Obviously these are characters, but they do feel like real-life friends who draw out different sides of myself.
On Jordan: Sweater Bode. On Josh: Sweater Polo Ralph Lauren.
Viewers are going to inevitably place this show within the context of other shows with an ensemble cast of friends that have come before it, like Girls and Insecure. How would you say I Love LA is different and new? And why is it important to tell this story now?
Rachel Sennott: When we talk about the show we call it Entourage for It Girls.
I love that.
Rachel Sennott: Another HBO show! I dream of making something that comes close to any of those titles. All of those shows are favorites of mine and we’ve definitely referenced them, but hopefully this feels like its own thing.
Josh Hutcherson: If I can gush a little bit, what makes this show so special is Rachel’s voice. She has a unique, one-of-a-kind, fresh, honest, intelligent perspective that I haven’t seen captured before. When I read these scripts, I was like, “Holy shit, these characters are so well-defined.”
Jordan Firstman: It’s also fearless. Rachel writes about some very controversial topics. Things you wouldn’t think people would say on a TV show. Or opinions you wouldn’t expect a character to have. It’s what the younger generation is craving because we hear these takes on TikTok, but when you turn on the TV, everything feels so sanitized.
Odessa A’zion: Fake, yeah.
Jordan Firstman: I think it’s going to feel really refreshing for younger audiences to hear people talking like their friends talk or recognize the way people speak on the internet.
Odessa A’zion: Without it feeling performative.
Jordan Firstman: And it’s not a show about the internet.
How important do you think it is to have folks your age helming an HBO show right now? I’ve seen so many young people on TikTok and Instagram asking, “When is Gen Z getting their show?” I think this is it.
True Whitaker: I think we got it.
Even though you’re technically a millennial.
Rachel Sennott: Whoa.
Jordan Firstman: Cut! Cut!
True Whitaker: Cut!
Rachel Sennott: We’ve established on the record that I’m a cusp.
Jordan Firstman: Younger sisters, remember? That means she’s Gen Z.
Rachel Sennott: Yeah, younger sisters!
Okay, okay, you’re a Gen Z–leaning cusp.
Jordan Firstman: Cosmo said it!
Rachel Sennott: I think it’s really important to have a show like this right now. Young people are so funny. I’ll swipe for an hour on TikTok and be like, “Oh my god, I just saw 10 people who should be making movies.”
True Whitaker: And what’s great is the show does feature some actors who’ve made a name for themselves on TikTok. Like Quen Blackwell—
—who is also in this issue of Cosmo!10
10. Quen took the Cosmo Quiz, and her handwriting is as fantastic as you’d expect.
Josh Hutcherson: There’s something to be said for having an HBO show that appeals to such an online generation. You’ve got to draw those people in or else we won’t have a future making great TV. We’ve found a way to bring them into the fold. Having Rachel at the helm is vital for the future of television.
Jordan Firstman: And the world!
Odessa A’zion: Mankind, goddamn it.
Was that part of the intentionality behind the 30-minute episode format? It’s like, “Well, their attention spans are not an hour long.”
Rachel Sennott: No, I just got a 30-minute order.
True Whitaker: Rachel’s writing reflects the culture and time period we’re in right now. Yes, it’s Gen Z. But we even have a Gen Alpha moment. We show that there’s another generation even younger than Gen Z that the media isn’t even really talking about yet.
Rachel Sennott: It’s a jumpscare.
Odessa A’zion: Is that what they’re called? The young ones?
True Whitaker: Yeah. They’re Gen Alphas. The Skibidi Toilet young ones.
What would you say are your biggest hopes for this series? How many seasons are you hoping this runs for?
Odessa A’zion: I’m just trying to stay employed.
Speak it into existence!
True Whitaker: 10.
Jordan Firstman: 6.
Rachel Sennott: I’m hearing 10, I’m hearing 6. So maybe we go 8?
Jordan Firstman: 6 is fabulous. We won’t overstay our welcome.
Rachel Sennott: 8.
Jordan Firstman: 6 and a movie.11
11. Speaking of movies, if you’ve somehow yet to see Rachel’s acting genius on display, then be sure to stream Bottoms, Shiva Baby, or I Used to Be Funny to get yourself acquainted.
Do you think that we have the next big iconic show, or do you not like to think about the pressure of something that can feel like such lightning in a bottle?
Odessa A’zion: I have no idea. But I hope people are fucking obsessed with it.
Jordan Firstman: We have no idea how it’s going to be perceived, but I think all of us know it’s a great show. Rachel’s unstoppable. Everyone’s obsessed with Rachel. She’s not going to lose.
True Whitaker: There’s a reason why.
Rachel Sennott: I think that’s a lot of pressure. But I know we’re all proud of what we made.
True Whitaker: I think we do.
Josh Hutcherson: You never know, but in my experience you kind of know…
The Hollywood vet says, “This is good.”
Jordan Firstman: It’s the new Hunger Games.
Josh Hutcherson: I used to try to be humble and pretend like I didn’t set out to make a hit. But this series has that secret recipe. You never know, the world can end before this show comes out. But apart from that, I think it’s going to be big.
(Cover image) On Josh: Sweater Polo Ralph Lauren. On Rachel: Cardigan Polo Ralph Lauren, bracelet Gabriela Artigas. On True: Sweater Brunello Cucinelli.
Styled by Angelina Vitto. Hair by Sami Knight for Rehab. Makeup by Lilly Keys for Alastin Skincare. Produced by Lucky 13 Projects.
(Video loops) Director: Rae Medina. Director of photography: Darren Kho. Editor: Sarah Ng.
(Group Therapy With Cosmo video) Director: Rae Medina. Director of photography: Darren Kho. Cinematographer: Jake Mitchell. Editors: Ana Fangayen and Chris Green. Senior producers: Rae Medina and Lucy Dolan-Zalaznick. Producers: Phoebe Balson and Ali Buchalter. Director of East Coast video: Amanda Kabbab. Director of West Coast video: Kathryn Rice. Vice president of video: Jason Ikeler.