Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and right away starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming truly remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, that’s exactly what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers familiar with the unapologetically openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which she penned with the director and appeared in alongside collaborator the talented actress—will be aware that Sennott possesses plenty to share, ranging from on identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a teen brawl society. Plus, once you finish the latest seasonal program I Love LA, it is clear that she has additional insights about the struggles of modern youth (As a millennial, she is an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for straddling both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, referencing the show in addition to the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling talent manager Maia. Notably, the largest presence on concept was reserved for the HBO series, that program about a rising celebrity making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott discovered it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The idea for I Love LA emerged—partly—from personal, initially fractious, transition to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a time that involved her grasp some big truths, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in New England, the star commenced writing and performing humor while studying 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. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters intensely drawn to motherhood; a different one imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she met Seligman through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical about her then will likely be kicking themselves today. Through she labels a “astonishingly complete” development, she seems to have created the perfect project. In 2019 she posted content called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers managing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to make a series about digital influence that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of privileged twentysomething living that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
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
