Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and right away launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really regretful. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. 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 experience. Besides, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and featured in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will understand that Sennott possesses plenty to share, whether on gender, sex, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end her new seasonal show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds further insights on the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Influences and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott is an admirer, naming the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest spot on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, 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 notes. The inspiration for the series emerged—in part—from personal, initially rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for followers. That period marked a time that saw her grasp some big life lessons, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott began creating and acting comedy while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and posting hilarious (and very) unconventional skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts regarding her then will surely be kicking themselves today. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared content named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). One might tempting to create a program about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. This show avoids both, making for a portrait of affluent millennial living that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she comments. “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
