Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and right away begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding really remorseful. Despite being only a bit delayed, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in with close companion the talented actress—can already know that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, be it about gender, intimacy, or the merits of starting a youth brawl society. And, after watching her new multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has even more thoughts about the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott admits to being an admirer, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—in part—from personal, initially difficult, move to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented an era that saw her learn some big life lessons, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing comedy while enrolled in performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, performing at live shows with Ayo and posting hysterical (and decidedly) weird comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely drawn to having babies; another portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott then will certainly be kicking themselves currently. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she has created her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded content called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could tempting to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, making for a depiction of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“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
