Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, seeming truly regretful. She is only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, this is just what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Viewers who know the boldly openly gay and brash project Bottoms—which she co-wrote with the director and appeared in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that she possesses a lot to say, be it on gender, relationships, or the pros of forming a teen brawl society. And, after watching her latest eight-part program titled I Love LA, it is clear that she carries additional insights about the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she is an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras with a knack for connecting both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for her series, which follows the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also aspiring representative Sennott’s character. Notably, the biggest influence on concept was reserved for Entourage, the show about an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for the series originated—in part—from firsthand, at first rocky, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. It was a time that included her grasp some big truths, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, the star began creating and acting humor while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) unconventional skits online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely obsessed with motherhood; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she says, has been peers supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her earlier will likely be kicking themselves currently. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she has manifested the perfect project. Previously she shared a clip called on LA life online, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents managing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky outcast). One might tempting to create a series about internet celebrity that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. This show avoids both, creating a portrait of affluent twentysomething existence that’s frank about the mess and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
