Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and at once begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming genuinely remorseful. She is only slightly late, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Besides, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and outspoken project Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in with close companion The Bear’s standout—would already know that Sennott has a lot to share, be it about identity, sex, or the merits of starting a youth combat group. And, once you finish her new eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional thoughts about the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for straddling both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, citing it together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for her series, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest presence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 notes. The idea for I Love LA originated—partly—from her own, at first rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her learn some big truths, professionally and personally. “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
Brought up in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, appearing at live shows with her friend and posting uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on pregnancy; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical about her earlier will surely be kicking themselves currently. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted a video called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be simple to create a show about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. This show does neither, creating a portrait of affluent young adult existence that’s honest about the grot and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “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
