Rachel Sennott enters the video call and right away launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming truly apologetic. Despite being only slightly late, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s exactly what you want to experience. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Anyone familiar with the unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in with her friend The Bear’s standout—can be aware that Sennott possesses much to say, whether about gender, intimacy, or the pros of forming a youth combat group. Furthermore, after watching her latest multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she has additional perspectives about the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is an admirer, citing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for her series, which details the journey of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest influence on concept belonged to Entourage, that program depicting a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The inspiration for this project originated—partly—from firsthand, initially rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a time that included her understand some big truths, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced creating and acting humor while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre skits on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely fixated on pregnancy; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned about her earlier will certainly be regretting it currently. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted content called “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be simple to create a series about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of privileged millennial life that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
