Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and right away starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming truly apologetic. Although she's only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone who know her boldly queer and brash movie titled Bottoms—which she penned with the director and featured in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—will understand that Sennott possesses plenty to discuss, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a teen fight club. Plus, after watching her latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds additional insights about the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott is a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras skilled for straddling both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, naming it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for the project, which details the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, that program about an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA came—partly—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that involved her understand major truths, 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. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with her friend and posting hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively obsessed with motherhood; another portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical about Sennott then will likely be regretting it today. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a video called on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about LA residents balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be easy to produce a program about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
