The comedic talent discussing the side-splitting series portraying that grotty appeal of Gen Z life
Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and immediately begins an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what one hopes to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Those who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—that she co-wrote with the director and featured in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—will be aware that she holds much to say, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a youth combat group. Furthermore, once you finish her recent eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds additional insights regarding the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, she is a relatable figure to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being a fan, naming the show together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as inspirations for the project, which follows the journey of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring representative Maia. Notably, the largest presence on creative vision went to the HBO series, the program depicting an emerging A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The inspiration for this project came—to some extent—from her own, at first difficult, transition to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that included her understand major life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in Connecticut, the star commenced writing and performing 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. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically obsessed with motherhood; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been people her own age offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who questioned about Sennott previously will likely be kicking themselves now. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip called on LA life online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos managing advantages of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might tempting to create a series about online fame that was overly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a portrait of advantaged millennial existence that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she observes. “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