Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding really apologetic. Although she's only a bit behind, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Those who know the boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that she has much to discuss, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the merits of forming a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish her recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds even more insights about the challenges of modern youth (At 30, she serves as a bridge of the gang, straddling eras adept for connecting both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest influence on the moodboard belonged to the HBO series, that show focusing on an emerging A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 idea for I Love LA came—in part—from her own, initially rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. It was an era that saw her understand major life lessons, professionally and in private life. “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. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, the star began writing and performing stand-up while studying performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, performing at open mics with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and very) bizarre online content on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively drawn to motherhood; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned regarding her then will surely be feeling foolish currently. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have created the perfect project. A few years back she shared content titled on LA life online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents managing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could simple to produce a program about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a portrait of advantaged young adult existence that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
