Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and right away starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding truly remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Those familiar with the fearlessly queer and brash film titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and featured in together with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can already know that Sennott holds much to discuss, whether on identity, intimacy, or the pros of starting a youth brawl society. And, after watching her recent eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more thoughts on the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a bridge for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is enthusiastic, naming it alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and new representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant spot on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the program about an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from her own, originally difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that involved her understand major life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced writing and performing humor while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” 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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, performing at live shows with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically drawn to having babies; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott then will likely be kicking themselves today. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she seems to have created an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a clip named about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers managing benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be tempting to create a program about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of privileged young adult living that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“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
