Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and right away begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing truly remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who know the boldly openly gay and brash movie titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and starred in together with her friend The Bear’s standout—would already know that Sennott possesses a lot to share, ranging from on identity, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a high-school brawl society. Plus, after watching the latest seasonal program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has additional perspectives regarding the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing the show together with Sex and the City, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and new agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest presence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to create a new version 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 inspiration for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from her own, initially rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented a time that saw her grasp major insights, professionally 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. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in the East Coast, the star commenced creating and acting comedy while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “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?”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott then will likely be kicking themselves currently. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have created an ideal role. A few years back she posted a video titled “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about LA residents juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). One might easy to make a show about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, creating a depiction of privileged young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
