Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and at once starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming really remorseful. Although she's only slightly behind, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what you want to hear. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Those who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash movie titled Bottoms—that she penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott holds a lot to share, whether about gender, relationships, or the merits of creating a youth combat group. Furthermore, after watching the recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star has even more thoughts on the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott serves as an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, naming the show together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which follows the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the biggest influence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, that show about an emerging A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for I Love LA emerged—in part—from her own, initially rocky, relocation to LA and from her astrological phase, a popular event for followers. That period marked a time that included her learn some big truths, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” 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 seized control, appearing at live shows with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely drawn to pregnancy; another imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts about her earlier will surely be kicking themselves today. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to manifested an ideal role. Previously she posted a video called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos managing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a intoxicated thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could simple to make a program about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s frank about the mess and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
