Rachel Sennott on the hilarious series portraying the messy allure of Gen Z existence
Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and right away begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really remorseful. Although she's only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Viewers who have seen the fearlessly queer and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—will already know that Sennott possesses plenty to say, be it about roles, sex, or the pros of forming a youth fight club. Plus, after watching the new eight-part HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries even more thoughts regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for straddling different age groups).
Inspirations and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott is an admirer, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for I Love LA, which details the travails of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and new agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest influence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, the show depicting a rising A-list actor navigating in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “hooked”, 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 notes. The idea for I Love LA came—to some extent—from personal, originally fractious, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her grasp major life lessons, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and sharing uproarious (and very) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely drawn to motherhood; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Anyone who had doubts regarding her previously will surely be regretting it now. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted a clip called on LA life on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about Angelenos managing advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could simple to make a show about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. This show does neither, resulting in a representation of privileged twentysomething living that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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