Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding genuinely regretful. Despite being only slightly late, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly queer and brash film titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in together with collaborator the talented actress—will understand that Sennott possesses a lot to discuss, whether about roles, sex, or the merits of creating a youth brawl society. Plus, once you finish the recent multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott represents an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which tracks the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and new agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant influence on creative vision went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom focusing on a rising celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA emerged—in part—from firsthand, at first fractious, relocation to LA and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a phase that included her understand some big life lessons, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott started writing and performing comedy while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and very) unconventional skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely drawn to pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical about her earlier will likely be feeling foolish currently. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded content called “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a risky persona non grata). One might easy to create a program about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, creating a representation of privileged millennial life that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
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 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
