Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming really apologetic. Although she's only a bit late, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, this is exactly what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in alongside collaborator the talented actress—will understand that Sennott holds a lot to share, be it on gender, sex, or the appeal of forming a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, after watching her latest multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional insights on the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the journey of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also new agent Maia. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on a rising Hollywood star succeeding in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, and resolved to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for I Love LA emerged—in part—from personal, originally rocky, move to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular event for followers. This represented an era that included her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting humor while enrolled in performance 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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott seized control, performing at live shows with Ayo and posting hysterical (and distinctly) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely fixated on motherhood; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish today. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a clip titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could tempting to produce a program about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. This show avoids both, making for a representation of advantaged young adult life that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“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