The comedic talent discussing the uproarious series about the grotty appeal of Gen Z existence
Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly regretful. She is only a bit delayed, she needs to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who have seen the unapologetically queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and starred in together with collaborator the talented actress—will be aware that she has a lot to discuss, ranging from on roles, sex, or the pros of forming a teen fight club. Furthermore, once you finish the new seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries further thoughts on the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she is a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, citing it alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling agent Sennott’s character. However, the largest presence on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, that program focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for I Love LA came—to some extent—from her own, initially difficult, move to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a frequently discussed phenomenon for followers. It was an era that included her understand significant insights, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “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 the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing acting at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
She seized control, appearing at live shows with her friend and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) weird comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely obsessed with motherhood; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Those who had doubts about her then will certainly be feeling foolish today. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded a clip titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked 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 Angelenos balancing advantages of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). It would be easy to create a show about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of affluent millennial existence that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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