Rachel Sennott on the side-splitting show depicting that chaotic appeal of today's youth life
The star enters the video call and at once begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely remorseful. She is only a bit delayed, she wants to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those familiar with the boldly queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with her creative partner and appeared in together with her friend the talented actress—can understand that she possesses much to discuss, whether on gender, sex, or the merits of forming a youth brawl society. Plus, after watching the latest eight-part program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries further perspectives on the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of an influencer Tallulah and ally and fledgling talent manager Maia. However, the most significant presence on concept belonged to Entourage, that HBO sitcom about a rising A-list actor making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist 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 explains. The concept for this project came—in part—from firsthand, at first rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that saw her grasp significant insights, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, appearing at open mics with Ayo and posting hysterical (and very) weird online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely drawn to pregnancy; another envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who were skeptical regarding her previously will surely be feeling foolish currently. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. A few years back she posted a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers juggling benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). One might tempting to create a show about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, making for a representation of privileged twentysomething living that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.
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 says. “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