Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding genuinely remorseful. Although she's only slightly behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who know her boldly queer and brash movie Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in with close companion the talented actress—will understand that she has a lot to say, be it about gender, relationships, or the merits of forming a high-school fight club. Plus, after watching her new eight-part program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has additional insights on the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge for this generation, straddling eras adept for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, naming it together with the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest presence on creative vision belonged to Entourage, that show about an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for the series originated—in part—from personal, originally fractious, move to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a popular event for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her grasp some big life lessons, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in Connecticut, the star began developing and showcasing humor while pursuing theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical about her previously will certainly be regretting it today. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted a clip called on LA life on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about LA residents managing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). It would be simple to create a program about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of advantaged millennial living that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she observes. “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
