Rachel Sennott joins the video call and at once launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a bit behind, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s precisely what you want to experience. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those familiar with her boldly openly gay and brash project titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and featured in together with close companion the talented actress—can understand that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, be it about identity, sex, or the appeal of creating a high-school combat group. Plus, by the end the latest eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries further perspectives about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star Tallulah and close companion and new agent Sennott’s character. However, the most significant spot on creative vision belonged to Entourage, the show about an emerging celebrity navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA emerged—in part—from firsthand, initially rocky, move to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. That period marked an era that included her learn significant truths, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and very) weird skits online. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been peers supporting her, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned regarding her earlier will certainly be regretting it now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have created the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a video titled on LA life on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might simple to make a program about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. The series steers clear of each, creating a depiction of advantaged millennial living that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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
