Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming truly regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly queer and brash project Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and appeared in with collaborator the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott holds a lot to say, be it on identity, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a teen fight club. Plus, after watching her recent eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that she has even more perspectives on the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for her series, which follows the travails of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the biggest influence on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, the show depicting a rising A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The concept for I Love LA came—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. That period marked an era that included her understand major insights, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, the star started developing and showcasing stand-up while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely obsessed with motherhood; a different one portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will likely be kicking themselves now. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers managing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could tempting to make a show about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of privileged young adult life that’s frank about the chaos 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 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
