Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding truly apologetic. She is only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, this is precisely what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers who have seen her fearlessly queer and outspoken film Bottoms—that she co-wrote with her creative partner and featured in together with close companion the talented actress—can understand that she has much to discuss, ranging from about gender, intimacy, or the merits of starting a high-school fight club. And, once you finish her latest seasonal show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries additional perspectives on the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, referencing it together with the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the most significant presence on the moodboard was reserved for Entourage, that program about a rising celebrity succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The idea for the series emerged—to some extent—from her own, initially difficult, relocation to LA and from the cosmic event, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that saw her learn significant life lessons, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Growing up in New England, Sennott commenced writing and performing stand-up while studying theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and posting hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically drawn to motherhood; another envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her career, she notes, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding her previously will certainly be feeling foolish today. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she shared a clip titled about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could easy to make a show about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. This show does neither, making for a representation of advantaged twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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
