Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and at once begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming really apologetic. She is only a bit delayed, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who have seen her boldly LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and appeared in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will be aware that she possesses plenty to discuss, ranging from about gender, relationships, or the merits of creating a teen combat group. Plus, once you finish the recent multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries additional perspectives about the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is a fan, naming the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which details the journey of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant influence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom depicting an emerging A-list actor navigating in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The inspiration for this project came—partly—from her own, initially difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. This represented an era that included her grasp some big insights, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott started creating and acting comedy while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Ayo and posting hysterical (and very) weird skits online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically drawn to having babies; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will certainly be regretting it now. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she has achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded a clip titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers balancing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might tempting to produce a program about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. The series avoids both, making for a portrait of privileged twentysomething life that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
