Rachel Sennott exploring the side-splitting series depicting that chaotic appeal of today's youth lifestyle
The star joins the video call and immediately launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Those familiar with her boldly openly gay and outspoken film Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott has plenty to say, be it on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a teen fight club. Furthermore, by the end the new eight-part program I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional perspectives regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott is a bridge of the gang, straddling eras adept for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is enthusiastic, naming it in addition to the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for her series, which details the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest presence on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA came—in part—from firsthand, initially difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. It was an era that included her grasp some big life lessons, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott commenced writing and performing humor while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. 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?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and eventually starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been peers supporting her, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves now. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she has created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a video titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to make a show about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of affluent twentysomething existence that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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