Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who know the fearlessly queer and outspoken project Bottoms—that she penned with the director and appeared in together with her friend the talented actress—will understand that she has a lot to share, whether on roles, intimacy, or the merits of creating a youth fight club. Furthermore, once you finish her latest seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more insights about the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, she represents a bridge of the gang, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for the project, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new agent Maia. However, the largest spot on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, that show depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version 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 notes. The idea for I Love LA came—partly—from firsthand, originally rocky, move to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a time that included her learn major truths, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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, Sennott commenced creating and acting comedy while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical regarding Sennott then will surely be regretting it today. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted content titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents juggling benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could simple to create a program about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. The series does neither, resulting in a representation of advantaged millennial life that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
