Rachel Sennott joins the video call and at once begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really remorseful. She is only slightly behind, she wants to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is exactly what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Those who know the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—which she penned with Emma Seligman and starred in with her friend The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott holds much to discuss, be it on roles, relationships, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. Plus, by the end her latest eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds further perspectives regarding the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress is a fan, naming it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which details the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant spot on concept went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom about a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 notes. The inspiration for the series emerged—to some extent—from personal, initially rocky, relocation to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. It was an era that involved her grasp significant life lessons, in her career and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively drawn to pregnancy; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been peers supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who were skeptical about her earlier will surely be feeling foolish today. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted a video named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a show about LA residents balancing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). Some could simple to produce a program about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of advantaged young adult living that’s frank about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
