Rachel Sennott on the side-splitting show about the grotty glamour of today's youth lifestyle
Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and immediately begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing genuinely regretful. Although she's only a bit behind, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and starred in with collaborator the talented actress—can be aware that she possesses a lot to say, be it about identity, sex, or the appeal of creating a youth combat group. Plus, once you finish the recent seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds even more insights about the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras adept for straddling both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress is a fan, citing it alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant influence on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on a rising celebrity succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version 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 explains. The inspiration for this project emerged—in part—from personal, originally difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for followers. It was an era that saw her grasp significant life lessons, professionally and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in New England, the star commenced writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and posting hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters intensely drawn to having babies; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned regarding her earlier will certainly be feeling foolish now. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have created an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded a clip titled on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might tempting to produce a program about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a depiction of affluent young adult existence that’s honest about the chaos and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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