Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming genuinely apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes late, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and starred in together with her friend The Bear’s standout—will understand that Sennott possesses much to share, ranging from about identity, sex, or the appeal of starting a teen brawl society. Furthermore, by the end the new eight-part program I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries further thoughts on the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, naming it in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the biggest spot on concept belonged to Entourage, the program about an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The idea for this project emerged—partly—from her own, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that saw her understand major life lessons, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, the star started creating and acting humor while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre online content on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott then will certainly be regretting it now. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has created her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to create a program about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a portrait of affluent twentysomething life that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
