Rachel Sennott on her hilarious comedy portraying that messy appeal of younger generation existence
The performer appears on the online meeting and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming really apologetic. She is only a bit late, she needs 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!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly openly gay and brash movie Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—would understand that she holds much to say, be it on identity, relationships, or the pros of creating a teen combat group. Plus, once you finish the latest seasonal show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she has additional insights on the challenges of modern youth (At 30, she serves as a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for her series, which follows the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and aspiring representative portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest spot on concept was reserved for Entourage, the program about an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 says. The concept for I Love LA emerged—partly—from her own, originally rocky, relocation to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed event for followers. It was a phase that involved her grasp significant insights, professionally and individually. “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…”
Starting Out
Brought up in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, appearing at open mics with her friend and uploading hysterical (and very) unconventional skits digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will likely be feeling foolish now. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she appears to manifested the perfect project. A few years back she shared content titled on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers juggling the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). It would be easy to produce a show about online fame that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, making for a representation of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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