Rachel Sennott discussing the hilarious series about that chaotic glamour of younger generation life

The performer joins the online meeting and right away starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing genuinely regretful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her boldly queer and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and appeared in together with collaborator the talented actress—would understand that she possesses a lot to discuss, whether about identity, relationships, or the merits of forming a youth combat group. And, after watching her recent seasonal HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has additional perspectives about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott represents an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, naming the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which details the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest influence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show about an emerging celebrity succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid COVID-19, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for I Love LA emerged—partly—from personal, originally rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. It was an era that included her learn significant truths, in her career and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in New England, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while studying performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”

Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with her friend and uploading hilarious (and very) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively fixated on having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish now. As part of she labels a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she has created the perfect project. In 2019 she shared a clip called “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a show about Angelenos balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a risky persona non grata). One might easy to produce a series about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. The series does neither, creating a depiction of advantaged twentysomething living that’s frank about the chaos and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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

Wendy Bush
Wendy Bush

Lead game designer and developer at Uplink Games, passionate about creating engaging player experiences and indie game innovation.