Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and immediately starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really apologetic. She is only a bit late, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Anyone who have seen the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash movie titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and starred in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—would already know that she has plenty to discuss, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the appeal of starting a teen brawl society. And, by the end her latest multi-episode show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she has even more thoughts regarding the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, she is a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest presence on creative vision went to Entourage, the program about an emerging celebrity navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist 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 says. The concept for the series originated—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a popular occurrence for followers. That period marked a phase that included her learn major insights, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, the star started creating and acting stand-up while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She decided to act independently, performing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely fixated on pregnancy; another imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have achieved the perfect project. A few years back she shared a video titled on LA life online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could tempting to create a series about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of advantaged millennial life that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
