Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and at once starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming really remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers who know the boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that Sennott possesses much to share, be it on roles, intimacy, or the pros of starting a youth combat group. Furthermore, after watching her new multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has additional thoughts on the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing the show together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which follows the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest presence on creative vision went to Entourage, the program about an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it during the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 idea for this project originated—in part—from her own, at first rocky, relocation to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for followers. This represented an era that involved her understand major insights, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and posting hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned regarding her earlier will certainly be feeling foolish currently. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she posted content titled on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a risky persona non grata). One might simple to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a depiction of advantaged twentysomething life that’s frank about the mess and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
