Rachel Sennott on the hilarious series portraying the chaotic glamour of Gen Z life
The performer enters the online meeting and right away launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone familiar with the boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and starred in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott has a lot to discuss, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the pros of starting a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end her recent multi-episode program I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries further perspectives on the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, citing it together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for her series, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the most significant presence on concept went to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom focusing on a rising A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The idea for I Love LA originated—partly—from her own, initially rocky, relocation to LA and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her learn significant life lessons, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing comedy while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “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.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and very) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one imagined being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who had doubts about her earlier will surely be kicking themselves now. As part of she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a clip called on LA life online, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). It would be simple to make a series about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. This show avoids both, making for a portrait of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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