Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. Despite being only slightly late, she needs to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is just what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those who know her fearlessly queer and brash film titled Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she possesses much to share, whether on gender, sex, or the appeal of creating a teen combat group. Furthermore, once you finish the latest eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional insights on the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, naming the show together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest presence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist 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—in part—from her own, initially fractious, transition to LA and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about phenomenon for followers. It was a phase that involved her grasp significant life lessons, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Raised in New England, the star commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with her friend and posting hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been peers supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts regarding her then will likely be feeling foolish today. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted content named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might simple to make a program about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a representation of privileged millennial existence that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
