Rachel Sennott on the side-splitting comedy depicting that grotty appeal of younger generation existence
The star appears on the digital interview and at once starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s just what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen the boldly openly gay and outspoken project titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—would understand that she has plenty to discuss, whether about roles, sex, or the appeal of forming a teen combat group. Furthermore, after watching the recent seasonal show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries even more insights about the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she represents an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, referencing the show in addition to the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which details the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest spot on the moodboard went to Entourage, that program focusing on an emerging A-list actor making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 idea for I Love LA emerged—partly—from personal, initially difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a time that saw her grasp some big life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing comedy while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” 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.”
She seized control, performing at open mics with her friend and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters intensely fixated on motherhood; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott then will surely be feeling foolish currently. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to created the perfect project. In 2019 she posted content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers managing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could tempting to produce a program about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a depiction of privileged twentysomething life that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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