Rachel Sennott exploring her uproarious series portraying that messy appeal of today's youth existence
The star enters the digital interview and right away launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding truly remorseful. She is only slightly behind, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is just what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who know her unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and featured in with close companion The Bear’s standout—can already know that Sennott has a lot to say, whether on roles, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen brawl society. Plus, after watching her latest eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that the star has further insights on the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being an admirer, naming it in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of online personality Tallulah and ally and aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to Entourage, the program depicting a rising celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose 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 says. The inspiration for the series originated—partly—from firsthand, originally fractious, relocation to LA and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. It was a phase that saw her grasp major truths, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott started writing and performing stand-up while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott then will likely be regretting it now. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has created an ideal role. Previously she shared content titled about Los Angeles online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might easy to create a show about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. The series avoids both, creating a representation of advantaged twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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