Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and immediately starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a bit late, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who have seen her boldly queer and brash movie titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with the director and starred in with her friend The Bear’s standout—would understand that she possesses plenty to share, whether on identity, sex, or the merits of forming a high-school combat group. And, by the end the new multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more perspectives about the darker side of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she represents a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, naming the show together with the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant spot on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, that show depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The concept for the series came—in part—from personal, at first difficult, move to LA and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for followers. That period marked a phase that included her grasp significant insights, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting humor while enrolled in theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) weird skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely fixated on pregnancy; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned about her earlier will likely be kicking themselves currently. Through she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip called about Los Angeles online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). One might tempting to create a program about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. The series does neither, resulting in a representation of privileged young adult living that’s frank about the chaos and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she observes. “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
