Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in with her friend The Bear’s standout—can be aware that she possesses much to share, whether about roles, sex, or the pros of starting a high-school fight club. Furthermore, by the end the new eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more perspectives regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, naming it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant presence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the program depicting an emerging celebrity succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist 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 says. The inspiration for the series came—to some extent—from firsthand, at first fractious, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her learn some big insights, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, Sennott 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 explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts regarding her earlier will likely be regretting it now. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she posted content called on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers managing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could simple to make a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, making for a depiction of advantaged twentysomething living that’s frank about the grot 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
