The actress and writer exploring her side-splitting comedy depicting that grotty appeal of younger generation life
Rachel Sennott joins the online meeting and right away launches into an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming truly regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she wants to justify. “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, that’s exactly what one hopes to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Those familiar with her boldly queer and brash film Bottoms—which she penned with Emma Seligman and starred in with collaborator the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott has much to say, be it on roles, intimacy, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish her new eight-part program I Love LA, viewers realize that she has even more thoughts about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing it in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. However, the most significant influence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the program about an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective 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 notes. The inspiration for this project came—in part—from personal, originally rocky, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a popular event for astrology heads. It was a time that included her grasp major truths, professionally and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” 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 resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott commenced writing and performing humor while pursuing theatre 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. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and very) unconventional online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively obsessed with motherhood; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a funeral gathering with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish currently. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she shared a video called “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos juggling benefits of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). One might simple to create a series about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. This show avoids both, making for a portrait of affluent millennial life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she comments. “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
