Rachel Sennott joins the video call and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding genuinely regretful. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who have seen the boldly openly gay and brash movie Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she holds a lot to discuss, be it about roles, intimacy, or the pros of starting a high-school fight club. Furthermore, by the end her recent seasonal show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries even more perspectives regarding the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, citing the show in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which details the journey of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also new talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest presence on concept belonged to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom about a rising Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from firsthand, at first fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed event for followers. That period marked a phase that saw her understand major life lessons, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women obsessively fixated on pregnancy; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will surely be regretting it currently. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she has manifested an ideal role. Previously she shared a clip called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about LA residents juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could simple to create a series about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, making for a depiction of affluent millennial existence that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she comments. “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
