It was six seasons and a studio lot for Gillian Jacobs during her run on the beleaguered comedy “Community.” But when that door closed, Netflix swung another wide open.

Really, really open.

Jacobs’ new comedy, “Love,” takes viewers on the various phases of navigating the L.A. dating scene. And it does so by actually exploring the City of Angels.

The actress plays wildflower Mickey, who is a program manager at a satellite radio station and lives in Echo Park. She meets nerdy guy Gus (Paul Rust), who is a tutor for a child star on a popular TV show and lives in Burbank. The show is loosely based on the off-screen relationship between Rust and his wife, Lesley Arfin, who co-created the series with Judd Apatow.


Locales featured in the show include Echo Park’s United Oil, Angelus Temple and Brite Spot; Hollywood’s Magic Castle; and Santa Monica’s Buffalo Club Restaurant.

× Gillian Jacobs of Netflix’s “Love” talks about the joys of filming on location in Los Angeles after years of filming on a studio lot for “Community.”

It’s all been an actual breath of fresh air from her time on “Community,” which was largely shot on a sound stage on the Paramount lot. (Jacob compares the two experiences in the clip above.)

“The first season, especially, of [‘Love’], anytime we went anywhere, I was like, ‘Whoa!,’ ” Jacobs said. “They were like, ‘You’re acting as if you’ve never acted before. Why are you so impressed by this?’


She continued: “Like, when they wrote Magic Castle into the show and we went to the Magic Castle, my mind was blown...it’s really great and I think it gives the show a bit of energy to be going around to different places.”

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Of course, that also means being exposed to onlookers. Jacobs recalled shooting a scene at United Oil, a mini-mart/gas station on Sunset Boulevard, which is near a few bars, and being heckled by passersby.

But the talk didn’t end there. To hear what Jacobs had to say about working with Rust, her hints as to what’s coming in Season 2, and to see her make another plea to Dan Harmon about that “Community” movie, check out the full-length video below.


× Gillian Jacobs of Netflix’s “Love” visits the Los Angeles Times studio to reflect on the first season of the comedy. And, yes, she still misses “Community,” just like the rest of us.

yvonne.villarreal@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter: @villarrealy