Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing truly apologetic. Although she's only slightly delayed, she wants 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!” Luckily, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Those who have seen the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken project Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and appeared in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would be aware that she possesses a lot to share, be it on identity, intimacy, or the merits of forming a high-school fight club. Furthermore, once you finish the new multi-episode program titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries additional thoughts regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress is a fan, naming the show alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as influences for her series, which details the struggles of online personality Tallulah and close companion and fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the biggest influence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, the program focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA came—in part—from her own, originally fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was an era that saw her grasp some big truths, professionally and individually. “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…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, the star commenced writing and performing comedy while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and very) bizarre skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely drawn to motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned about Sennott earlier will surely be kicking themselves today. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. A few years back she posted a video named on LA life online, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos juggling advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be tempting to make a program about online fame that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial existence that’s honest about the mess and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
