Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, this is precisely what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Those familiar with the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken project titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator the talented actress—will be aware that she possesses a lot to say, be it on gender, intimacy, or the merits of starting a youth brawl society. And, by the end her latest multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional thoughts about the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest presence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that show depicting an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 explains. The concept for I Love LA came—to some extent—from firsthand, originally rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. It was a phase that included her learn significant insights, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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, the star commenced creating and acting humor while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre online content digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively fixated on having babies; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will surely be kicking themselves currently. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a clip titled on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers managing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). Some could tempting to make a show about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
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
