Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding truly regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Those who know her boldly queer and brash movie Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that Sennott holds much to say, be it on roles, sex, or the pros of starting a high-school combat group. And, after watching the new eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has further thoughts about the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which tracks the struggles of online personality Tallulah and close companion and new agent Maia. However, the biggest spot on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in an often-seedy entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to create a new version on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for the series originated—to some extent—from personal, originally fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. This represented a time that included her grasp some big truths, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, the star started developing and showcasing humor while pursuing performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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.”
Sennott decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting hysterical (and decidedly) weird online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts about her earlier will surely be feeling foolish now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has manifested the perfect project. A few years back she posted content called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents managing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to make a series about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a representation of affluent millennial life that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
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
