Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming really regretful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Those who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and appeared in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she has a lot to say, ranging from on gender, sex, or the merits of creating a teen fight club. Plus, once you finish the new seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries additional insights regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a bridge of the gang, on the cusp adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which follows the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. However, the largest spot on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 says. The concept for I Love LA came—to some extent—from personal, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a phase that included her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “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
Growing up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing stand-up while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely drawn to having babies; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her then will certainly be kicking themselves today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she posted a clip titled “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers managing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could easy to create a program about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA does neither, making for a representation of privileged millennial existence that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
