Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and at once starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing genuinely remorseful. Despite being only slightly behind, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is just what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers familiar with the boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that she penned with Emma Seligman and starred in together with collaborator the talented actress—can be aware that she holds a lot to share, whether about roles, sex, or the merits of forming a teen fight club. And, once you finish the recent seasonal HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has even more thoughts on the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a bridge of the gang, straddling eras adept for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress admits to being a fan, naming it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for the project, which follows the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring agent Maia. However, the most significant influence on concept was reserved for the HBO series, the program focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose 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 the series emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, at first difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented an era that involved her grasp some big life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing humor while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and posting hysterical (and decidedly) weird comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively obsessed with having babies; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned regarding Sennott then will certainly be regretting it today. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has created the perfect project. In 2019 she shared content named on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos managing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to make a program about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a portrait of advantaged millennial existence that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she observes. “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
