Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding truly regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly openly gay and outspoken project Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in together with collaborator the talented actress—can be aware that she possesses much to say, whether on roles, intimacy, or the merits of forming a high-school combat group. And, by the end her recent seasonal program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries even more perspectives regarding the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she is an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, citing the show in addition to the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also fledgling representative Maia. However, the biggest spot on creative vision went to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The concept for I Love LA originated—partly—from personal, at first fractious, relocation to LA and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that saw her understand some big truths, in her career 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.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically obsessed with having babies; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts about Sennott then will certainly be kicking themselves today. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded content titled “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to produce a series about online fame that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a depiction of advantaged millennial living that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
