Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and at once starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Viewers who know the boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken project Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and appeared in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott has much to share, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a teen combat group. And, by the end the latest eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that she has even more insights about the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott is an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing the show alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for her series, which follows the journey of a social media star Tallulah and ally and new agent Maia. Perhaps, the most significant spot on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, the show depicting an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, 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 explains. The concept for the series originated—in part—from firsthand, originally fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a phase that saw her understand major truths, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Raised in the East Coast, the star began creating and acting comedy while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “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 took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content online. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically fixated on motherhood; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical about her then will surely be kicking themselves now. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to created an ideal role. A few years back she shared a clip called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to produce a show about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of advantaged millennial existence that’s candid about the mess 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
