Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and right away begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly openly gay and brash film Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and featured in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—will already know that she has plenty to say, whether on gender, relationships, or the merits of starting a high-school brawl society. And, once you finish the latest eight-part show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional thoughts on the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras skilled for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which follows the struggles of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard went to Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging A-list actor making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The idea for the series emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, originally difficult, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her learn major life lessons, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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 was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, the star started creating and acting humor while studying performance 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 says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) weird comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women intensely drawn to pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who questioned about her then will certainly be kicking themselves now. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. Previously she shared content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). Some could easy to make a series about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a representation of affluent millennial existence that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
