Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming truly regretful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who know the unapologetically openly gay and outspoken film Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will already know that she holds plenty to discuss, be it on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, by the end her latest seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds even more perspectives about the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a bridge for this generation, on the cusp skilled for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for the project, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and new agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the biggest presence on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, that program about an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She started watching it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The idea for this project originated—to some extent—from her own, at first difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. This represented an era that saw her understand some big insights, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, the star commenced 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. “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 decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott then will certainly be feeling foolish currently. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. Previously she shared content called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about city dwellers balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could simple to make a show about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, making for a portrait of privileged twentysomething existence that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
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
