Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and at once starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming truly remorseful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who have seen the boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can understand that she holds plenty to say, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the pros of forming a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, by the end her new eight-part program I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more perspectives about the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she is an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp adept for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is a fan, referencing it together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest spot on concept was reserved for the HBO series, that program about an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist 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 notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—in part—from personal, initially difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a phase that saw her learn significant truths, work-wise 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…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott started writing and performing stand-up while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with her friend and posting hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits online. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will surely be regretting it today. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. Previously she posted a clip named about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents managing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to produce a series about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of privileged twentysomething life that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
