Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and right away begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing truly regretful. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those familiar with her boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that she holds plenty to say, whether on roles, sex, or the merits of creating a youth brawl society. And, after watching her new seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds additional thoughts regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp adept for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, citing the show in addition to the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which details the journey of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest presence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The concept for I Love LA came—partly—from firsthand, originally rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a popular event for followers. That period marked a time that involved her grasp significant life lessons, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting humor while enrolled in theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and very) weird skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively fixated on pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts about Sennott earlier will surely be kicking themselves today. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. A few years back she posted a clip called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might simple to make a program about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. The series does neither, making for a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
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
