Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and immediately begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit behind, she needs 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!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what you want to hear. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in alongside her friend the talented actress—can understand that Sennott has plenty to share, be it about gender, relationships, or the merits of forming a teen fight club. And, by the end the new multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds further thoughts regarding the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which tracks the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest spot on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, the program about an emerging A-list actor making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, 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 explains. The idea for this project emerged—partly—from firsthand, at first difficult, move to LA and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that involved her understand some big insights, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, the star started creating and acting humor while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “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. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely obsessed with motherhood; another portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will surely be regretting it now. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a clip titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). One might tempting to make a show about internet celebrity that was overly idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she observes. “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
