Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really apologetic. Although she's only slightly delayed, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who know the fearlessly queer and brash movie Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—would already know that she has a lot to discuss, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. Furthermore, by the end the latest eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that she has further insights on the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras skilled for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as influences for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and ally and fledgling agent Maia. Perhaps, the biggest spot on concept went to the HBO series, that show focusing on an emerging celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“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 emerged—partly—from her own, at first difficult, relocation to LA and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a time that involved her understand significant life lessons, in her career and personally. “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…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at open mics with her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) unconventional online content digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely fixated on pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her journey, she says, has been peers supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be regretting it currently. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she shared a clip named “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos managing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could simple to make a series about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, creating a representation of affluent millennial living that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
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
