Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding really regretful. She is only a bit behind, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who know her fearlessly queer and brash project Bottoms—that she penned with the director and featured in together with her friend The Bear’s standout—would understand that Sennott has much to discuss, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a youth combat group. Furthermore, after watching her new eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds further thoughts on the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is an admirer, referencing it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also new talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the most significant influence on concept belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on a rising A-list actor navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The idea for this project emerged—to some extent—from personal, originally fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that saw her learn significant truths, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, the star began writing and performing stand-up while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” 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 open mics with her friend and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned about Sennott then will certainly be regretting it currently. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to created her dream vehicle. Previously she posted content named on LA life on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents managing the perks of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to create a show about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething existence that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
