Rachel Sennott on the hilarious series about that chaotic glamour of younger generation existence
The performer enters the digital interview and right away starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing truly regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers who have seen the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and featured in alongside close companion the talented actress—will be aware that she possesses much to discuss, be it about gender, sex, or the merits of forming a teen combat group. Furthermore, after watching the recent multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries additional thoughts about the darker side of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being a fan, citing the show alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for her series, which tracks the struggles of online personality Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant presence on creative vision went to Entourage, that program focusing on an emerging A-list actor navigating in an often-seedy LA scene (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—in part—from firsthand, initially rocky, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her understand major insights, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in Connecticut, the star commenced creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at live shows with Edebiri and posting hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been peers supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish today. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she shared content named on LA life on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos managing the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). One might easy to make a show about online fame that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. This show does neither, creating a portrait of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” she comments. “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
