Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Despite being only a bit delayed, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s exactly what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Those familiar with her boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in with her friend The Bear’s standout—would already know that Sennott has a lot to share, whether about gender, sex, or the merits of creating a youth combat group. Plus, once you finish her new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further thoughts on the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she represents an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring representative Maia. Perhaps, the biggest influence on the moodboard went to Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The idea for this project originated—in part—from her own, originally fractious, move to LA and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. This represented a time that included her grasp major insights, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, the star started creating and acting comedy while pursuing theatre at a prestigious arts school. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and very) bizarre skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters intensely fixated on motherhood; another portrayed working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” development, she has manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents managing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might easy to create a show about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of affluent young adult existence that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “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
