Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and right away begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming really apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who have seen her boldly queer and outspoken project Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—will understand that she has plenty to say, whether on identity, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. And, after watching the recent multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional thoughts about the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she represents an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for straddling both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, citing it alongside the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which details the travails of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest influence on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided 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 notes. The idea for the series originated—in part—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a time that saw her understand some big life lessons, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, the star started creating and acting comedy while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and very) unconventional online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding her previously will likely be feeling foolish today. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a video titled on LA life online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents managing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). One might tempting to create a program about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of advantaged young adult living that’s frank about the mess and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
