Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming truly apologetic. She is only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “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 just what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who know her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and featured in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would understand that Sennott holds a lot to say, be it on gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, after watching her new multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries even more insights regarding the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she represents an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, referencing it in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which details the travails of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also new representative Maia. However, the most significant presence on creative vision belonged to Entourage, the show depicting an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved 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 notes. The concept for the series emerged—in part—from her own, initially rocky, move to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented an era that included her learn major truths, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Brought up in the East Coast, the star started creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in performance 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 states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she has created an ideal role. A few years back she posted a clip named “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). It would be tempting to produce a series about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a representation of privileged young adult existence that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
