Rachel Sennott exploring her side-splitting show about that grotty glamour of younger generation life
The star joins the digital interview and at once starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing genuinely apologetic. Although she's only a couple of minutes late, she needs to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, that’s precisely what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Anyone familiar with her unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that she co-wrote with the director and appeared in with collaborator the talented actress—would already know that Sennott has a lot to share, be it about roles, relationships, or the pros of forming a high-school brawl society. And, by the end her latest seasonal HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries additional perspectives on the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott is an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting both generations).
Influences and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for her series, which details the struggles of a social media star Tallulah and ally and aspiring talent manager Maia. However, the largest spot on creative vision belonged to Entourage, that HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming celebrity navigating in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for the series originated—in part—from personal, initially rocky, transition to LA and from the cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her grasp significant truths, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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 …”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, the star began creating and acting comedy while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She seized control, taking the stage at open mics with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely fixated on pregnancy; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through campus film circles and eventually featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been peers supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical regarding Sennott previously will surely be feeling foolish now. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she posted a video named “it’s LA” on social media, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be easy to produce a program about online fame that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at its subjects. The series avoids both, creating a portrait of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
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 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