Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and immediately launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding truly apologetic. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will already know that she has a lot to discuss, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. And, by the end the recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional insights on the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for straddling both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, citing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and aspiring agent Maia. Perhaps, the biggest spot on concept was reserved for Entourage, that program depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The inspiration for the series originated—partly—from her own, originally difficult, move to LA and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented an era that involved her understand significant life lessons, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, the star began developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in 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 states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned about Sennott earlier will certainly be regretting it currently. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a video titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). It would be easy to create a series about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, creating a representation of advantaged young adult life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
