Rachel Sennott discussing her side-splitting series about that chaotic allure of younger generation existence

Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and immediately starts an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing truly remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she needs to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Those who have seen the fearlessly queer and brash film titled Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—would be aware that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, be it on roles, relationships, or the pros of starting a youth fight club. And, once you finish the latest multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that the star has further thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling different age groups).

Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress is a fan, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for her series, which follows the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling agent Maia. However, the most significant presence on the moodboard went to Entourage, that show about an emerging A-list actor succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and chose to put her own twist 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 explains. The concept for this project came—partly—from her own, at first difficult, move to LA and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a phase that saw her understand some big insights, work-wise and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Humble Origins

Raised in Connecticut, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while enrolled in theatre at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She decided to act independently, appearing at live shows with Ayo and uploading uproarious (and very) weird skits online. One, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being caught in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her career, she explains, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who had doubts regarding her then will surely be regretting it now. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to created an ideal role. A few years back she shared a clip named on LA life on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about LA residents managing advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might tempting to create a series about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, making for a representation of advantaged young adult existence that’s honest about the grot and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“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