It’s been a couple of weeks since the first season of “I Love LA” wrapped, and now that I’ve had a little bit of space to process why I liked it, I’m realizing its significance for the queer community. The hilarious HBO series (which was renewed in November for a second season) follows a group of clout-chasing zillennials trying to find success in that city’s ruthless entertainment industry. Among other things, the series explores friendship, adulting, and the existential crisis that many young people face in a social-media-driven world.
But there’s one specific character, Tallulah (played by Odessa A’zion), who stood out because of how she showed up on screen as a queer person. Through her character and plotlines, we saw how queer representation seems to be shifting in more nuanced, exciting and — for me — deeply relatable ways.
For those who haven’t watched the show, Tallulah is an influencer who moves from New York to Los Angeles to be with her best friend and manager, Maia (Rachel Sennott). In Episode 6, when Tallulah gets hired to be in a Ritz Crackers ad, Maia casually brings up to Ritz executives that her client is bisexual, and one of the execs all but loses her mind with excitement. When the ad comes out, Tallulah is horrified to see a mural of herself with rainbow crackers and the caption “Ritz supports LGBTQ+ storytellers.”
