Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing truly remorseful. She is only a bit behind, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s just what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Those who have seen the fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in together with her friend the talented actress—would already know that Sennott possesses a lot to share, be it on roles, relationships, or the merits of creating a youth brawl society. Plus, once you finish her recent seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds further insights regarding the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, citing the show together with the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also new representative Maia. However, the biggest influence on creative vision went to Entourage, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and decided to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The inspiration for this project emerged—in part—from her own, originally rocky, transition to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a popular occurrence for followers. It was an era that saw her understand major truths, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Brought up in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing stand-up 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. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she notes, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will surely be regretting it today. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to manifested an ideal role. A few years back she posted content called on LA life online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents managing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). One might tempting to produce a show about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged millennial existence that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
