Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and at once launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing truly regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, for a writer, this is just what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—will understand that she possesses plenty to discuss, be it about roles, sex, or the pros of creating a teen fight club. And, after watching the recent multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional perspectives regarding the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she is a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is a fan, naming the show in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for her series, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and new talent manager Maia. However, the biggest spot on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, that HBO sitcom about a rising Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The idea for this project originated—to some extent—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular occurrence for followers. That period marked a phase that saw her grasp significant life lessons, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting stand-up while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “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. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and posting hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively fixated on having babies; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish currently. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared a video named on LA life on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might easy to produce a show about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a depiction of privileged millennial living that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
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
