Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly regretful. She is only a bit delayed, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s precisely what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—will already know that Sennott holds much to discuss, ranging from on roles, relationships, or the appeal of starting a youth fight club. And, by the end her recent eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that she carries even more insights on the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott serves as a bridge for this generation, on the cusp adept for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for the project, which details the journey of online personality Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring representative Maia. However, the most significant influence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the show about an emerging A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The idea for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from firsthand, initially difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that saw her learn significant life lessons, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, the star commenced developing and showcasing comedy 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 says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional online content on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women obsessively fixated on having babies; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will certainly be kicking themselves today. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has created the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a clip called “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). One might tempting to produce a series about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. The series does neither, creating a portrait of advantaged young adult life that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
