🔗 Share this article

Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly behind, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those familiar with her fearlessly queer and brash project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and appeared in with close companion the talented actress—would already know that she holds a lot to share, ranging from on roles, sex, or the merits of creating a teen fight club. And, by the end the new seasonal show I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional perspectives on the darker side of modern youth (At 30, Sennott serves as a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras adept for connecting millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, referencing the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and fledgling representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, that HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from firsthand, at first fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. It was an era that saw her grasp significant truths, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Raised in Connecticut, Sennott began writing and performing humor while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with her friend and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively drawn to motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Career Breakthrough

Those who questioned about Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves today. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. Previously she posted a clip called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to make a program about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a representation of affluent twentysomething life that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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