Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming really regretful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who know her boldly queer and unapologetically crass movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in alongside collaborator the talented actress—will understand that Sennott possesses much to discuss, whether on roles, sex, or the pros of starting a teen combat group. Furthermore, after watching the latest eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more perspectives regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is an admirer, citing the show together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant influence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom focusing on an emerging celebrity succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it during the pandemic, 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 explains. The concept for the series emerged—partly—from personal, initially fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that included her learn some big life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, the star commenced developing and showcasing comedy while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and posting hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional online content online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned about her previously will surely be regretting it today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted content called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about Angelenos balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be tempting to make a show about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a representation of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
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 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
