Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and immediately begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only slightly late, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Those familiar with the unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can already know that she holds much to share, be it on identity, relationships, or the merits of creating a high-school combat group. Furthermore, by the end her recent multi-episode show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries additional perspectives about the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a bridge for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Creative Vision
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, citing the show in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest spot on concept went to the popular sitcom, that program focusing on a rising Hollywood star navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for the series came—partly—from firsthand, at first fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular event for astrology heads. It was a time that involved her grasp major insights, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, Sennott started creating and acting comedy while studying acting 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. “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.”
Sennott seized control, performing at live shows with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding her then will surely be regretting it now. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded content called “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). It would be tempting to make a program about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial living that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
