Rachel Sennott on her side-splitting series portraying that grotty appeal of younger generation lifestyle
Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and at once begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely remorseful. She is only slightly behind, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, this is exactly what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers who know her boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with Emma Seligman and featured in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—can already know that Sennott holds plenty to share, ranging from about gender, relationships, or the appeal of creating a teen fight club. Furthermore, after watching the new multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has further insights about the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming it together with Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and close companion and fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest influence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, that program focusing on a rising Hollywood star navigating in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it during lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version 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 notes. The inspiration for this project emerged—partly—from firsthand, at first rocky, move to Tinseltown and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that saw her understand major truths, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, the star started creating and acting comedy while pursuing theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre online content on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively drawn to pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, adding humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned about Sennott earlier will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she has manifested the perfect project. Previously she shared a clip called on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). It would be tempting to create a program about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. This show avoids both, making for a depiction of advantaged young adult life that’s honest about the mess and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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