Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, this is exactly what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers who have seen the fearlessly queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in with close companion the talented actress—would already know that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, whether on roles, relationships, or the pros of starting a high-school fight club. Furthermore, by the end the new eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional perspectives about the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott represents a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, referencing it together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling representative Maia. However, the biggest influence on concept went to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on a rising Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“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 emerged—partly—from personal, originally rocky, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a popular event for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her grasp some big insights, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting humor while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will likely be feeling foolish currently. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might simple to make a series about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. This show does neither, resulting in a portrait of privileged young adult life that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
