The actress and writer on her uproarious show portraying that messy appeal of younger generation lifestyle
Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and right away starts an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only a bit delayed, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is just what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and appeared in together with her friend the talented actress—can understand that Sennott holds much to say, ranging from about gender, relationships, or the appeal of starting a high-school combat group. And, once you finish the latest seasonal show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has further perspectives about the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, she is a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp skilled for bridging both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing it in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring representative Maia. However, the most significant influence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom focusing on a rising celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist 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 explains. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, move to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. This represented an era that included her grasp some big insights, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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?”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and distinctly) weird comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on a group of women fetishistically drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical about Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish now. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos managing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could simple to create a series about internet celebrity that was horribly aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. The series avoids both, making for a depiction of affluent young adult life that’s frank about the grot and the glamour.
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 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
