Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and right away begins an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly behind, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s quite expected. Viewers who know the fearlessly openly gay and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can understand that Sennott holds plenty to share, ranging from about roles, relationships, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. Plus, once you finish her latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has further thoughts about the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott is an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing it in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling agent Maia. However, the biggest spot on concept belonged to Entourage, the program depicting an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA emerged—in part—from firsthand, initially fractious, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. It was a time that involved her learn major truths, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned about Sennott previously will likely be regretting it currently. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded a clip titled about Los Angeles online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could simple to produce a series about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a representation of privileged twentysomething living that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
