Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming genuinely regretful. Although she's only a bit late, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash movie titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with collaborator the talented actress—can understand that she possesses plenty to share, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a youth fight club. Plus, once you finish her new eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional thoughts about the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras adept for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is a fan, citing the show together with Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also new agent Maia. Notably, the largest spot on concept went to the popular sitcom, that show depicting an emerging celebrity succeeding in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for this project came—partly—from firsthand, at first fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular occurrence for followers. This represented an era that included her learn major insights, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in Connecticut, the star began developing and showcasing comedy while studying acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hysterical (and decidedly) weird comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively drawn to having babies; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical regarding her previously will surely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to created the perfect project. A few years back she shared a video named on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might simple to create a show about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. The series does neither, resulting in a representation of advantaged young adult existence that’s frank about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she says. “I think that young people have been through a lot – I’m mostly thinking of people younger than me, like my little sister, who went to college during Covid, so she had to come home, or my other sister who was doing school online.”|“The younger generation has faced significant
