Rachel Sennott joins the video call and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing genuinely regretful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty predictable. Anyone who know her unapologetically queer and outspoken film Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—would understand that she possesses a lot to share, be it on gender, relationships, or the merits of creating a teen combat group. And, by the end her latest multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she carries further perspectives about the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp skilled for straddling both generations).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing the show together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which tracks the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring agent Maia. Perhaps, the most significant presence on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on a rising Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt LA scene (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The idea for the series originated—in part—from her own, initially difficult, relocation to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a popular phenomenon for followers. That period marked a time that saw her grasp significant truths, work-wise and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott commenced creating and acting comedy while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and decidedly) weird online content online. One, Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; a different one imagined working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Those who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be kicking themselves today. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. Previously she posted content named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). It would be tempting to produce a series about digital influence that was horribly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. This show does neither, resulting in a portrait of privileged millennial existence that’s candid about the mess and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
