🔗 Share this article

Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming really remorseful. She is only a bit late, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s exactly what one hopes to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those familiar with her boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in with close companion the talented actress—can understand that she has plenty to discuss, whether about gender, intimacy, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. Furthermore, after watching the new seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she has even more thoughts regarding the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott is a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Artistic Direction

Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling representative Maia. However, the largest spot on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the program about an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The concept for this project came—partly—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for followers. This represented a time that involved her understand some big life lessons, in her career and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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 the East Coast, the star started creating and acting humor while studying theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and decidedly) unconventional comedy videos online. One, Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively drawn to pregnancy; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who were skeptical about her earlier will certainly be kicking themselves currently. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might tempting to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of privileged young adult life that’s frank about the mess and the shine.

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