Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, seeming truly remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone who know her unapologetically openly gay and outspoken project titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and starred in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would already know that she holds a lot to say, whether on identity, relationships, or the pros of forming a high-school combat group. Furthermore, after watching her recent multi-episode program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional perspectives about the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, citing the show together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which follows the journey of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and aspiring agent Sennott’s character. However, the most significant presence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The concept for the series came—in part—from firsthand, originally fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. This represented a time that saw her learn some big life lessons, work-wise and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, Sennott commenced developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Ayo and posting hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed several females intensely drawn to having babies; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her career, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about her previously will surely be kicking themselves currently. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted content named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being labeled as being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). Some could easy to make a show about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, making for a representation of affluent twentysomething living that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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
