The actress and writer on the uproarious show portraying that messy allure of today's youth existence
Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and immediately begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding really apologetic. Despite being only a bit behind, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in alongside collaborator the talented actress—would already know that she has a lot to say, be it on identity, sex, or the pros of creating a youth brawl society. And, by the end her recent multi-episode show I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds further perspectives on the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she represents an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for bridging both generations).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, naming it together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for the project, which tracks the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and new representative Maia. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about a rising Hollywood star making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and decided 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 notes. The concept for I Love LA emerged—in part—from personal, at first difficult, transition to LA and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that involved her understand some big insights, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in Connecticut, the star began creating and acting humor while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “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 seized control, taking the stage at live shows with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on having babies; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding her then will surely be regretting it currently. Through she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. A few years back she shared content titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents managing the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could simple to create a series about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a depiction of privileged millennial life that’s frank about the chaos 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
