Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and at once launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely apologetic. Although she's only slightly late, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is precisely what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Those who know the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in with her friend The Bear’s standout—would be aware that Sennott has much to say, whether on identity, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a youth brawl society. Plus, once you finish her new seasonal show titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional perspectives about the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott serves as a bridge of the gang, straddling eras adept for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing the show in addition to the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling representative Maia. Perhaps, the biggest spot on concept went to Entourage, that program about a rising A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version 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 says. The idea for this project emerged—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented an era that included her understand significant truths, professionally and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, Sennott started writing and performing stand-up while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “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, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about her earlier will surely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to created the perfect project. A few years back she posted content titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers managing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be tempting to make a program about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a representation of affluent millennial living that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
