Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and right away launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming truly apologetic. She is only slightly delayed, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to encounter. Besides, it’s quite unsurprising. Viewers familiar with her boldly openly gay and brash film Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and starred in with her friend the talented actress—will understand that Sennott holds much to discuss, be it about identity, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a high-school fight club. Plus, after watching the new multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries further perspectives about the darker side of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, straddling eras adept for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as guides for her series, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant influence on concept belonged to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting a rising celebrity navigating in a corrupt LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from personal, originally fractious, transition to LA and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for followers. That period marked a time that included her learn major insights, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, the star began writing and performing humor while studying acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at open mics with her friend and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters fetishistically drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned about her previously will surely be regretting it today. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to achieved an ideal role. Previously she shared a clip titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). Some could tempting to create a series about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of affluent twentysomething life that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Balanced Perspective
“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
