The actress and writer on the hilarious series portraying that chaotic appeal of today's youth existence
Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, seeming genuinely apologetic. She is only slightly behind, she wants to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, this is exactly what one hopes to hear. Besides, it’s pretty predictable. Those who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and appeared in with close companion the talented actress—would understand that she possesses a lot to share, ranging from on gender, intimacy, or the pros of starting a teen fight club. And, once you finish her latest multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star has additional insights regarding the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, she represents a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for bridging both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, referencing it together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for her series, which tracks the travails of a social media star Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, the program depicting an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy Hollywood (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it amid lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved 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 idea for this project came—partly—from firsthand, originally difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. It was a time that included her learn significant truths, work-wise and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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?”
Sennott decided to act independently, performing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hysterical (and very) weird skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively fixated on having babies; another envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts regarding her earlier will surely be regretting it now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she appears to manifested the perfect project. Previously she uploaded content called “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about Angelenos balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. The series avoids both, making for a portrait of affluent young adult living that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
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 observes. “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