Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing really remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled 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, in this context, this is just what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who know her boldly openly gay and outspoken film Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—will already know that Sennott possesses a lot to say, be it about roles, intimacy, or the pros of creating a high-school fight club. Plus, by the end the new eight-part show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more insights regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott is an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, referencing it together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for her series, which follows the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest presence on concept went to the HBO series, the show focusing on an emerging A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The inspiration for the series emerged—to some extent—from firsthand, initially rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that included her understand some big life lessons, professionally and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott started writing and performing 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 explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and posting hilarious (and very) bizarre skits on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish now. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted a video titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be tempting to create a show about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. This show avoids both, making for a depiction of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
