Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming truly regretful. Although she's only a bit late, she needs to justify. “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 one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who know the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside close companion the talented actress—can be aware that she possesses plenty to say, ranging from on gender, sex, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. Furthermore, once you finish the new eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries even more perspectives on the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott serves as an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, citing it together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for I Love LA, which follows the travails of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and new talent manager Maia. Perhaps, the most significant influence on concept belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom about an emerging Hollywood star navigating in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“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 originated—to some extent—from firsthand, initially rocky, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that involved her understand some big insights, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “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 commenced writing and performing comedy while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and posting hysterical (and distinctly) weird comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be feeling foolish now. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. A few years back she posted content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). One might easy to produce a show about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, creating a representation of affluent young adult existence that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
