Rachel Sennott joins the digital interview and immediately launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming genuinely regretful. Despite being only a bit behind, she wants to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to experience. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Anyone familiar with the boldly LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—will understand that she has much to say, be it on gender, intimacy, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. And, by the end her latest seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that she holds additional perspectives regarding the challenges of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is an admirer, citing it alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for the project, which tracks the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, the program focusing on an emerging Hollywood star making his way in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist 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 says. The inspiration for the series came—in part—from personal, originally rocky, transition to LA and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for followers. This represented a time that included her grasp some big truths, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Raised in Connecticut, Sennott started developing and showcasing humor while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “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. 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 took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters obsessively obsessed with having babies; another envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott earlier will certainly be feeling foolish now. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted a clip titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about city dwellers managing benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could tempting to create a show about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged millennial living that’s frank about the chaos and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“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
