Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and immediately launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is exactly what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen her boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and featured in together with collaborator the talented actress—would already know that Sennott possesses plenty to say, be it about roles, intimacy, or the merits of forming a teen brawl society. Plus, after watching the latest multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott is a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show in addition to the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling agent Maia. Notably, the most significant presence on concept went to Entourage, the show depicting an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“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 personal, at first rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. This represented a phase that included her learn significant life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced writing and performing humor while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” 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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos online. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to having babies; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical about Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish today. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. Previously she uploaded content called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos balancing advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). One might easy to make a program about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, creating a depiction of affluent millennial living that’s frank about the chaos 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
