Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and immediately begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing truly regretful. She is 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!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen her boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which she penned with the director and starred in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will understand that Sennott holds much to discuss, ranging from on roles, sex, or the pros of creating a youth combat group. Furthermore, after watching her latest eight-part show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries additional perspectives about the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she represents an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing the show together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about an emerging A-list actor making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA came—in part—from firsthand, originally fractious, relocation to LA and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was an era that involved her learn major life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “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…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “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.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and decidedly) weird online content online. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on having babies; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding her earlier will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared content called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers managing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be easy to make a series about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. The series avoids both, making for a depiction of privileged twentysomething living that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
