The actress and writer exploring the hilarious comedy portraying that grotty appeal of younger generation existence
Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and immediately starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing really remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s exactly what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who know her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and starred in together with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would understand that Sennott has plenty to say, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the pros of starting a teen brawl society. Plus, by the end the new eight-part program I Love LA, it is clear that she carries additional thoughts on the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she is an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. However, the most significant influence on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, that HBO sitcom focusing on a rising Hollywood star making his way in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for this project originated—partly—from her own, initially rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for followers. It was a phase that involved her grasp some big insights, work-wise and personally. “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…”
Starting Out
Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “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 took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with her friend and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely fixated on motherhood; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will certainly be kicking themselves today. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have created the perfect project. In 2019 she posted content titled about Los Angeles online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could simple to make a show about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. The series does neither, making for a representation of affluent millennial living that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
