Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really apologetic. She is only a bit late, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that Sennott possesses much to discuss, be it about roles, sex, or the appeal of forming a youth brawl society. Plus, after watching the recent multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that the star has even more thoughts about the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras skilled for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, naming it in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for her series, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on a rising A-list actor making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The idea for this project emerged—partly—from firsthand, initially rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. It was an era that involved her learn some big life lessons, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, Sennott started writing and performing humor while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on having babies; another portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about her earlier will certainly be feeling foolish today. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a video titled about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about LA residents balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could easy to create a program about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA does neither, making for a depiction of privileged young adult living that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she comments. “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
