The actress and writer on the hilarious comedy depicting that messy glamour of today's youth life
Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and right away launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing truly regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to clarify. “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!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s precisely what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Anyone who have seen the unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with her friend The Bear’s standout—can understand that Sennott possesses a lot to share, whether on roles, sex, or the merits of starting a youth fight club. And, once you finish the latest eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds even more insights on the struggles of modern youth (At 30, she serves as a relatable figure of the gang, on the cusp skilled for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress is an admirer, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for her series, which details the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest influence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that show about a rising celebrity navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA originated—partly—from her own, originally fractious, transition to LA and from the saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that involved her grasp major insights, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in Connecticut, the star started creating and acting comedy while studying acting at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, performing at open mics with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and very) unconventional comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who had doubts regarding her earlier will certainly be kicking themselves today. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she posted content named on LA life online, in which she lampooned movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a show about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be easy to create a series about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a representation of affluent young adult life that’s frank 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 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
