Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and right away starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding genuinely regretful. Despite being only slightly late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and featured in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—will be aware that she has much to share, ranging from about roles, relationships, or the merits of creating a high-school brawl society. And, by the end the new multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that she has even more perspectives regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp adept for bridging both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, naming it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new agent Maia. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that program depicting an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The idea for I Love LA came—partly—from her own, originally rocky, move to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked an era that included her understand major truths, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in Connecticut, the star started developing and showcasing comedy while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “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. 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.”
She decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically drawn to having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who were skeptical about her then will likely be kicking themselves currently. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to created an ideal role. Previously she shared a video titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers managing the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could simple to create a series about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, creating a depiction of advantaged millennial life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
