🔗 Share this article

Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and right away launches into an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, sounding really apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is precisely what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Those familiar with the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in with her friend the talented actress—would be aware that Sennott has a lot to share, be it on gender, intimacy, or the pros of starting a youth combat group. Furthermore, after watching the new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she holds even more perspectives on the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for bridging different age groups).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing it alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the biggest presence on concept was reserved for Entourage, that show about an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The inspiration for this project came—in part—from her own, originally rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. It was an era that saw her grasp some big truths, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Starting Out

Brought up in Connecticut, the star started developing and showcasing humor while pursuing 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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters obsessively obsessed with having babies; another portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been peers offering opportunities, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Rising Success

Those who were skeptical about Sennott earlier will certainly be regretting it today. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a video called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a show about city dwellers managing benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). It would be easy to produce a program about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. This show avoids both, creating a depiction of advantaged twentysomething life that’s frank about the grot and the shine.

Nuanced Portrayal

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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