Rachel Sennott on her hilarious series depicting the messy glamour of younger generation life
The performer appears on the online meeting and right away begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a bit behind, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in together with close companion the talented actress—can already know that she possesses much to discuss, be it on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a teen brawl society. Furthermore, by the end her latest seasonal show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional perspectives regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she is an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, citing it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for the project, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new talent manager Maia. Notably, the most significant spot on creative vision went to the HBO series, the show focusing on a rising celebrity making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA came—to some extent—from firsthand, initially difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her learn significant insights, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in Connecticut, the star started writing and performing comedy while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and posting uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically drawn to having babies; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will surely be regretting it now. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she shared a video named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be easy to produce a series about online fame that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of advantaged young adult life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
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 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