Rachel Sennott enters the video call and right away begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding truly regretful. She is only slightly behind, she feels compelled 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!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s quite expected. Viewers who know her boldly queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in together with close companion the talented actress—can be aware that Sennott possesses much to say, ranging from about identity, sex, or the merits of creating a high-school brawl society. And, once you finish the new seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds even more insights about the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, referencing it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for the project, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring representative Maia. Notably, the largest influence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, the program focusing on a rising celebrity succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to create a new version 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 notes. The idea for I Love LA came—partly—from personal, initially rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. This represented a time that included her grasp some big life lessons, work-wise 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. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott commenced writing and performing comedy while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with her friend and posting hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely drawn to pregnancy; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding her then will surely be feeling foolish currently. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a video called about Los Angeles online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might tempting to make a program about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. This show does neither, resulting in a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
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 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
