{"id":460376,"date":"2025-12-20T16:41:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T16:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/460376\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T16:41:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T16:41:23","slug":"inside-filming-around-los-angeles-for-rachel-sennotts-i-love-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/460376\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Filming Around Los Angeles for Rachel Sennott’s ‘I Love LA’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spoiler\u00a0note: This article discusses I Love LA episodes 1-7\u00a0<\/p>\n

I Love LA\u00a0had\u00a0bear wranglers\u00a0as\u00a0part of its\u00a0production team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0among the\u00a0nearly 2\u00a0million\u00a0average\u00a0viewers per episode, the new series\u00a0is not a survival thriller or forest-set drama. Rather,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a Los Angeles-set comedy about a group of late 20-somethings navigating ambition, love,\u00a0careers\u00a0and the chaos of the city itself.\u00a0With\u00a0season one\u00a0coming\u00a0to a close\u00a0on Dec. 21,\u00a0HBO notes\u00a0the show is\u00a0among its\u00a0fastest growing original comedies and\u00a0second top\u00a0freshman\u00a0comedy in platform history.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And as the name suggests, the series filmed all across Los Angeles (aside from the upcoming stint in the\u00a0finale\u2019s\u00a0New York City-set episode). Much of the show\u00a0rolls\u00a0around the\u00a0Eastside\u00a0at\u00a0hotspots in Silver Lake and\u00a0Echo\u00a0Park,\u00a0but\u00a0filming\u00a0also\u00a0took the crew into Los Angeles County\u2019s\u00a0less urban\u00a0terrain,\u00a0like the charming town of Sierra Madre on the edge of the San Gabriel Mountains.\u00a0These foothills\u00a0happened to have the perfect house for an episode set at an\u00a0influencer\u00a0party taking place at Elijah Wood\u2019s home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had probably four or five [black] bears patrolling the property trying to get onto the street and knock over trash cans,\u201d says\u00a0location manager Jonathan Jansen\u00a0(Barry),\u00a0who recalls that there were also deer,\u00a0coyotes\u00a0and a couple of rattlesnakes. \u201cThey were more focused on the trash cans than on what we were doing up there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Rachel Sennott and True Whitaker in episode four.Credit: Kenny Laubbacher\/HBO<\/p>\n

\"\"Elijah Wood, Rachel Sennott and True Whitaker in episode four.Credit: Kenny Laubbacher\/HBO<\/p>\n

Over the course of eight episodes,\u00a0I Love LA\u00a0creator, writer and star Rachel\u00a0Sennott \u2014 whose\u00a0profile\u00a0first rose on the internet\u00a0and in the alt-NYC comedy scene\u00a0before\u00a0earning laughs\u00a0in applauded comedies\u00a0like\u00a0Shiva Baby,Bodies\u00a0Bodies\u00a0Bodies\u00a0and\u00a0Bottoms\u00a0\u2014\u00a0weaves a\u00a0transplant\u2019s\u00a0earnest\u00a0love letter to\u00a0Los Angeles.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that every neighborhood is its own world,\u201d\u00a0Sennott shares\u00a0over Zoom. \u201cYou never feel like you know the whole city.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0changing and moving,\u00a0and you get to keep exploring.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I Love LA\u00a0positions\u00a0its version of\u00a0L.A.\u00a0very specifically as a place where people go to execute\u00a0big city dreams,\u00a0particularly ones with goal posts like 5 million TikTok followers\u00a0and giftings from Balenciaga. In the show,\u00a0the city is (for its focal characters, as it is for many people)\u00a0a projection of ambition and fantasy. Even when it knocks you on your ass.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ICredit: Kenny Laubbacher\/HBO<\/p>\n

The comedy follows\u00a0Maia (Sennott), a newly 27 aspiring\u00a0influencer\u00a0talent\u00a0manager\u00a0battling a reckless best friend\/\u00a0client (Odessa\u00a0A\u2019zion), a drifting-away boyfriend (Josh Hutcherson), an impossible boss (Leighton Meester) and the turmoil of her Saturn Return (an astrological milestone that, as\u00a0touched on\u00a0in the first episode, throws\u00a0your\u00a0life into chaos before you achieve an authentic version of yourself around\u00a0age\u00a030).\u00a0She also has her best friends \u2014 stylist Charlie\u00a0(Jordan\u00a0Firstman)\u00a0and\u00a0Alani (True Whitaker), the daughter of a famous director born-and-raised\u00a0in Los Angeles\u00a0\u2014 by her side.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While\u00a0I Love LA\u00a0makes the occasional drop into the likes of Hollywood and Beverly Hills, it,\u00a0at its core, is an homage to\u00a0the\u00a0Eastside, which\u00a0Sennott considers home.\u00a0Maia and co. make a showcase of the region from the Silver Lake Reservoir to Tenants of the Trees, Capri Club\u00a0and Canyon Coffee (though we love the nods to Dan Tana\u2019s, Katsuya\u00a0and Din Tai Fung).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"IJordan Firstman, True Whitaker and Odessa A\u2019Zion in episode 1. Credit: Kenny Laubbacher\/HBO<\/p>\n

The show\u00a0forgoes\u00a0tackling\u00a0traditional Hollywood\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0more timely\u00a0world of content creators\u00a0and their adjacent bubbles\u00a0(\u201cI think that a lot of today\u2019s artists are artists online,\u201d\u00a0Sennott says.),\u00a0so it only makes\u00a0sense that\u00a0I Love LA\u00a0unfolds in be-seen locales for\u00a0affluent\u00a0Angelenos\u00a0(and the aspiring-to-be affluent).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is\u00a0perhaps\u00a0most\u00a0notable in the pilot\u2019s\u00a0montage of\u00a0Erewhon,\u00a0described by Charlie as\u00a0\u201can\u00a0experience, not a grocery store.\u201d\u00a0Sennott recalls that she loved to go to the Silver Lake location\u00a0(where they filmed)\u00a0when she first moved\u00a0to L.A. from New York.\u00a0After smoking a joint,\u00a0she\u2019d\u00a0walk around for hours,\u00a0enjoying the beautiful products and colorful juices,\u00a0but not buy anything.\u00a0\u201cShooting it and make it feel how it feels when you go in there and you\u2019re high was fabulous.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After Jansen, the production manager,\u00a0spent a few phone calls convincing Erewhon executives\u00a0(and, eventually, the\u00a0president)\u00a0of their vision, the Erewhon shoot took place in the wee hours of the night between the store\u2019s operating hours.\u00a0The mid-day-set scene\u00a0required\u00a0lots of lights,\u00a0cranes\u00a0and\u00a0rigging (and therefore the covering up of nearby apartment windows). \u201cWe didn\u2019t get any complaints from the residents,\u201d Jansen\u00a0says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of moving pieces on that one, but we made it work.\u201d\u00a0The result\u00a0is an approximately\u00a0seven-second\u00a0technicolor\u00a0kaleidoscope\u00a0of (no doubt organic) produce,\u00a0juices\u00a0and pre-packaged meals. \u201cI understood why Rachel really wanted to shoot there because it\u2019s such a symbolic\u00a0place,\u201d\u00a0adds\u00a0production designer Yong Ok Lee (Minari, The Farewell, Drive-Away Dolls).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joining the masses at trendy, pretty places \u2014 even if you\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0buy more than a smoothie \u2014 can be a balm when navigating\u00a0uniquely L.A. punches to the gut while on\u00a0the turbulent path to\u00a0achieving life\u2019s greatest ambitions. An expensive parking ticket,\u00a0a\u00a0grueling crawl up the 405,\u00a0a\u00a0stolen catalytic converter,\u00a0a\u00a0smashed car window\u00a0or\u00a0sudden fender bender\u00a0(What is SoCal without cars?)\u00a0can be cured by the tranquilizing effects of a rooftop happy hour drink,\u00a0a\u00a0glorious breakfast burrito on\u00a0a\u00a0sunny morning at the beach,\u00a0dinner where the Rat Pack used to feast,\u00a0strolling a world-famous museum to look at world-famous artifacts\u00a0or even waiting in line for free sample designer products and matcha at a Melrose Avenue pop-up \u2014 depending on your vibe, of course.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Kenny Laubbacher\/HBO<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Kenny Laubbacher\/HBO<\/p>\n

These sorts of salves\u00a0can become more frequent and gratuitous as one\u2019s star\u00a0(or star adjacency)\u00a0rises.\u00a0If you\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0afford health insurance,\u00a0at least you can get free outfits to wear to\u00a0Coachella.\u00a0Whether a\u00a0micro-influencer\u00a0or\u00a0A-lister, events overflowing with bites and drinks and goody bags are abundant.\u00a0Free omakase goes from a privilege to an expectation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As\u00a0I Love LA\u00a0season one comes to an end, Maia is on the cusp of a potential career game changer: getting\u00a0her client\/BFF\u00a0Tallulah to a high-profile\u00a0fashion\u00a0dinner in New York City.\u00a0The world around\u00a0Maia\u00a0is getting prettier\u00a0(even despite fumbles like accidentally stabbing herself\u00a0through\u00a0the foot with a knife)\u00a0as she\u00a0also\u00a0becomes a worse version of herself, mimicking the flourishing, sunny\u00a0paradise\u00a0and industrial wasteland reputations of Los Angeles itself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Kenny Laubbacher\/HBO<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Kenny Laubbacher\/HBO<\/p>\n

This duality is among what Sennott loves most about the city. \u201cL.A.\u00a0can be so glamorous but so dark or feel haunted, and I love that juxtaposition,\u201d she says.\u00a0Co-writer and executive producer Emma Barrie, who sits next to Sennott while on Zoom,\u00a0reminds\u00a0her\u00a0of a photo she first\u00a0took when she got to\u00a0L.A.\u201cYou\u00a0thought it looked\u00a0really beautiful,\u201d Barrie says\u00a0of the hotel rooftop pic,\u00a0even with\u00a0the DaVita dialysis billboard in frame.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For newcomers, understanding and getting to know the good parts\u00a0and people\u00a0of Los Angeles can take time, just as it takes a bit of willpower to not\u00a0be drowned\u00a0by\u00a0power,\u00a0money\u00a0and fame\u00a0(both real and cosplay). \u201cYou realize some people \u2014 not everyone, of course \u2014\u00a0but the people who look fake [do\u00a0so] actually because of their vulnerability,\u201d says Lee. \u201cThey are lovely and kind people.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Barrie, who is from L.A., was excited to romanticize her hometown. \u201cIt turns these places\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0at every day into this more cinematic experience\u2026\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0so exciting to be able to show other people like, \u2018Yes, this place means something to me\u2019 and now we get to see\u00a0it,\u00a0and it can live on forever in a way.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[Los Angeles]\u00a0feels like a living, breathing thing,\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0concludes. \u201cL.A. just\u00a0constantly\u00a0is changing for better or worse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

I Love LA is streaming on HBO Max.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spoiler\u00a0note: This article discusses I Love LA episodes 1-7\u00a0 I Love LA\u00a0had\u00a0bear wranglers\u00a0as\u00a0part of its\u00a0production team.\u00a0\u00a0 If you\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0among…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":460377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,1144,5560,2961,224,5337,100711,173],"class_list":{"0":"post-460376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-comedy","11":"tag-hbo","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-losangeles","15":"tag-rachel-sennott","16":"tag-tv"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115752893994542976","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}