Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and right away begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing truly regretful. She is only a bit delayed, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who have seen the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which she penned with the director and appeared in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she has plenty to say, ranging from about gender, intimacy, or the pros of creating a youth brawl society. Plus, once you finish the recent eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more perspectives on the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp adept for bridging different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, referencing it together with the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which details the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling talent manager Maia. Notably, the most significant influence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about an emerging Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The concept for the series emerged—in part—from firsthand, originally difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. It was an era that saw her understand some big life lessons, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, the star commenced writing and performing comedy while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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.”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and posting uproarious (and very) weird skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott then will surely be kicking themselves now. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have created an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a video called about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could easy to make a show about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. This show does neither, creating a representation of advantaged millennial existence that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
