Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing genuinely remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen the unapologetically queer and outspoken movie Bottoms—that she co-wrote with the director and starred in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott holds a lot to say, whether on identity, sex, or the merits of creating a teen combat group. Plus, after watching the new seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has even more perspectives about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she is a bridge of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, naming it together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which details the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant presence on concept was reserved for the HBO series, the show depicting an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 notes. The concept for I Love LA emerged—partly—from personal, at first fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a phase that included her grasp significant insights, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and very) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively drawn to having babies; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being caught in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves now. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to created the perfect project. In 2019 she shared content titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos managing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). Some could tempting to make a show about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. The series avoids both, resulting in a portrait of privileged twentysomething existence that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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
