The actress and writer on the side-splitting series depicting the chaotic allure of Gen Z lifestyle
Rachel Sennott joins the video call and at once launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Although she's only a bit late, she needs to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, for a writer, this is exactly what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who know the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—that she penned with the director and starred in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can already know that she possesses a lot to say, whether on identity, intimacy, or the appeal of creating a teen fight club. Furthermore, once you finish the latest multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional thoughts regarding the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott represents an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras skilled for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, naming it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for her series, which details the travails of an influencer Tallulah and ally and fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. However, the biggest influence on creative vision went to Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming celebrity succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective 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 the series came—partly—from personal, originally difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from the saturn return, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that saw her understand significant insights, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Growing up in New England, Sennott began developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She decided to act independently, appearing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) weird online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and ultimately appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her path, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who had doubts about her previously will certainly be kicking themselves currently. As part of she calls a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have manifested her dream vehicle. In 2019 she posted content titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about Angelenos balancing advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be tempting to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
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 says. “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
