Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding truly remorseful. Despite being only slightly behind, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s just what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers familiar with her fearlessly queer and brash project Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and appeared in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—will understand that Sennott holds plenty to discuss, be it about roles, relationships, or the pros of forming a youth fight club. And, by the end her latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional insights on the darker side of modern youth (At 30, she represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial adept for connecting both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is a fan, referencing it in addition to the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling representative Maia. However, the biggest spot on concept was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The concept for the series emerged—to some extent—from her own, initially rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. It was an era that involved her grasp some big insights, professionally and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, the star commenced developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “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 decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely fixated on pregnancy; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott then will likely be feeling foolish now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents managing benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could simple to create a program about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, making for a portrait of affluent twentysomething existence that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
