Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Those who have seen the fearlessly openly gay and brash film Bottoms—that she penned with Emma Seligman and featured in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would understand that Sennott has plenty to say, ranging from about roles, sex, or the merits of forming a high-school fight club. Furthermore, by the end the recent eight-part program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries additional insights regarding the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being a fan, citing the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and fledgling talent manager Maia. Notably, the biggest influence on the moodboard went to Entourage, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“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 originated—partly—from firsthand, initially difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for followers. That period marked an era that saw her learn significant life lessons, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “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
Raised in New England, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically obsessed with having babies; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who had doubts about Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves currently. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about Angelenos juggling the perks of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could easy to make a show about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of affluent young adult living that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.
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 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
