Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately launches into an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, appearing genuinely apologetic. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s just what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s quite predictable. Viewers who have seen the boldly queer and brash film titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that she holds a lot to say, be it on identity, intimacy, or the pros of creating a teen brawl society. Furthermore, by the end the new eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has additional perspectives about the struggles of modern youth (Now in her thirties, Sennott serves as an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Creative Vision
Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, naming the show alongside the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for I Love LA, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the biggest spot on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on a rising celebrity making his way in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved 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 this project emerged—in part—from her own, originally rocky, relocation to LA and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. It was a phase that saw her understand some big insights, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, the star started creating and acting comedy while pursuing performance 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.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at amateur nights with her friend and posting hysterical (and very) weird skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed several females intensely fixated on pregnancy; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her path, she says, has been peers offering opportunities, as opposed to traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating humorously: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Individuals who were skeptical regarding her previously will surely be feeling foolish currently. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. A few years back she uploaded a video titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers managing benefits of online celebrity (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your associate being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be tempting to make a program about digital influence that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that belittled at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, creating a portrait of privileged young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
