Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and immediately starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding truly regretful. She is only a bit delayed, she needs to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Those who have seen her boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that she possesses plenty to discuss, be it on roles, relationships, or the merits of creating a high-school combat group. And, once you finish her new eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds additional thoughts about the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she is a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress is enthusiastic, citing it together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for the project, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant influence on creative vision went to the HBO series, that program depicting an emerging celebrity making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The idea for the series came—to some extent—from her own, originally fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a phase that included her understand major insights, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in performance at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively fixated on motherhood; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who questioned regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish currently. In what she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a video titled “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). Some could easy to make a show about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of affluent twentysomething existence that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
