Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming genuinely apologetic. She is only a bit late, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is precisely what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Viewers familiar with her boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and appeared in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she holds a lot to discuss, be it on identity, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a high-school combat group. Furthermore, once you finish the new eight-part program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has even more insights on the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is a fan, citing the show together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for her series, which tracks the journey of an influencer Tallulah and close companion and fledgling agent Sennott’s character. However, the most significant presence on concept went to the popular sitcom, that program depicting a rising Hollywood star making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version 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 says. The idea for the series came—to some extent—from her own, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that included her grasp some big insights, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in New England, Sennott started creating and acting comedy while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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.”
Sennott seized control, performing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively obsessed with having babies; another envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her earlier will surely be feeling foolish now. As part of she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted content named on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos managing benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). Some could simple to create a program about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a portrait of advantaged millennial existence that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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
