Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and immediately starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing really remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s precisely what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who know the unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and starred in with close companion The Bear’s standout—can be aware that she possesses much to say, be it on identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a youth brawl society. And, once you finish the latest multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she is a bridge for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which tracks the struggles of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest influence on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The concept for this project came—partly—from her own, at first fractious, move to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. That period marked a phase that included her grasp significant life lessons, work-wise 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. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with her friend and posting hysterical (and very) weird comedy videos online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Individuals who had doubts about Sennott earlier will certainly be kicking themselves today. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. A few years back she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos managing advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). It would be tempting to create a series about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, creating a portrait of privileged young adult existence that’s honest about the mess and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
