Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and immediately launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing truly apologetic. Although she's only a bit late, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s exactly what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who know the fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in together with collaborator the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott holds a lot to say, ranging from about roles, sex, or the merits of forming a teen fight club. Furthermore, by the end the latest eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries even more insights about the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for her series, which tracks the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion and new talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, the program about an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from firsthand, originally fractious, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a time that involved her grasp major truths, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “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. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and decidedly) weird comedy videos online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely drawn to motherhood; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish currently. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a video called on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be tempting to create a series about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a portrait of privileged twentysomething living that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she comments. “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
