Rachel Sennott discussing the hilarious series portraying that grotty glamour of Gen Z lifestyle
The star appears on the online meeting and right away starts an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Those familiar with her fearlessly queer and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside her friend the talented actress—would understand that she holds much to share, whether about roles, relationships, or the appeal of creating a teen combat group. Furthermore, by the end the recent multi-episode show I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds additional insights regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which details the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also fledgling representative Sennott’s character. However, the biggest influence on concept went to Entourage, the program focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity making his way in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose 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 explains. The concept for the series came—in part—from personal, originally rocky, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that included her learn significant truths, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “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 took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and posting hysterical (and decidedly) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed a group of women intensely drawn to having babies; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who questioned about Sennott then will certainly be regretting it today. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted a video called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to make a program about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a portrait of affluent millennial living that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
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 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