Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming truly remorseful. Despite being only a bit delayed, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Those who have seen her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in with collaborator the talented actress—would already know that Sennott has plenty to say, whether on identity, relationships, or the appeal of forming a teen combat group. And, after watching her new eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has even more perspectives on the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a bridge of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for bridging both generations).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant presence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—in part—from firsthand, initially fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her learn some big insights, in her career and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up 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 explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely drawn to having babies; another imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned about Sennott previously will likely be kicking themselves today. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she has manifested her dream vehicle. Previously she shared a video named on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents managing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might easy to produce a series about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. The series does neither, making for a portrait of affluent young adult life that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
