Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and immediately launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming truly regretful. Although she's only slightly behind, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she holds plenty to say, whether on gender, intimacy, or the merits of forming a high-school brawl society. Plus, after watching her latest eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has even more thoughts on the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, that program about an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for this project originated—partly—from firsthand, at first rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for followers. It was an era that saw her learn some big insights, in her career and personally. “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.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, the star started writing and performing stand-up 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 explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Ayo and posting hilarious (and very) unconventional comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she says, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott then will surely be regretting it currently. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she uploaded content titled about Los Angeles online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might tempting to produce a program about digital influence that was overly aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, making for a depiction of privileged young adult living that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
