Rachel Sennott joins the video call and at once launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding really regretful. She is only a bit delayed, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, that’s precisely what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Anyone familiar with the boldly queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and featured in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can already know that she possesses much to share, be it on gender, sex, or the merits of creating a youth fight club. And, by the end the new seasonal program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds further perspectives on the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott is a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for straddling different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress admits to being a fan, naming it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also new agent Maia. Notably, the most significant influence on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, that program focusing on a rising Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided 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 idea for this project came—in part—from her own, at first fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her learn major insights, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, the star began writing and performing stand-up while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “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?”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and posting hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically obsessed with having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will likely be feeling foolish now. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she posted content titled on LA life on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might simple to create a program about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a representation of privileged millennial living that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
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
