Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and right away begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing genuinely remorseful. She is only slightly delayed, she needs to justify. “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!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s precisely what is ideal to hear. Besides, it’s quite expected. Those who know her unapologetically openly gay and outspoken project titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will already know that she holds a lot to share, be it about identity, relationships, or the appeal of starting a teen fight club. And, once you finish the new multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional thoughts on the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she is a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing it together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which tracks the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling representative Maia. Notably, the most significant influence on creative vision went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom about an emerging A-list actor making his way in a gritty LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The concept for I Love LA originated—partly—from personal, originally rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a phase that involved her understand some big life lessons, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” 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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Ayo and posting uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her then will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to created the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might simple to make a series about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of affluent young adult life 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
