Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and immediately launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly late, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, this is exactly what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers who have seen the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott possesses much to share, ranging from on roles, intimacy, or the merits of forming a youth fight club. Plus, by the end her new seasonal show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional perspectives regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp skilled for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is a fan, referencing it together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant influence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that show about an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, 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 concept for the series came—in part—from personal, initially rocky, move to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was a time that included her grasp major life lessons, in her career and individually. “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
Growing up in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing humor while pursuing theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, performing at open mics with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and distinctly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be feeling foolish today. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. A few years back she shared content called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). One might easy to produce a program about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. The series does neither, creating a portrait of advantaged young adult existence that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
