Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, appearing really apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Viewers who have seen the boldly queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which she penned with the director and appeared in alongside collaborator the talented actress—can understand that Sennott holds much to share, ranging from on gender, relationships, or the pros of starting a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, by the end the recent seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has even more perspectives regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras adept for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it alongside the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that show about a rising A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The idea for this project emerged—partly—from personal, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular occurrence for followers. This represented a phase that saw her learn some big life lessons, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, the star began writing and performing comedy while enrolled in performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and very) weird skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters intensely fixated on having babies; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about Sennott earlier will surely be kicking themselves currently. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. Previously she shared a clip called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents managing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). It would be simple to make a show about digital influence that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. This show avoids both, creating a representation of advantaged young adult existence that’s honest about the mess 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
