Rachel Sennott discussing her uproarious show depicting the grotty allure of today's youth life
The performer joins the video call and at once begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming truly regretful. Despite being only slightly behind, she feels compelled to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s quite expected. Those familiar with her fearlessly queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with the director and appeared in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she holds much to share, be it about gender, relationships, or the appeal of forming a youth brawl society. Plus, after watching the new eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries additional insights about the challenges of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is a fan, citing it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which details the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest influence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the show focusing on an emerging A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA came—partly—from personal, at first difficult, move to LA and from the saturn return, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her understand major insights, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott commenced writing and performing stand-up while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at open mics with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and decidedly) weird skits on the internet. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely drawn to pregnancy; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding her earlier will likely be kicking themselves today. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a clip named on LA life online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). Some could simple to produce a show about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. This show does neither, making for a representation of affluent twentysomething life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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