Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and immediately begins an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding truly apologetic. She is only slightly late, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what you want to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Those who have seen the fearlessly openly gay and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and appeared in alongside close companion the talented actress—can already know that Sennott has much to share, ranging from on identity, sex, or the merits of creating a teen combat group. Plus, once you finish the recent eight-part program titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more thoughts regarding the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, she is an honorary member to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott is enthusiastic, citing the show together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for the project, which details the journey of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. Notably, the most significant presence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, the program about a rising A-list actor navigating in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The inspiration for I Love LA came—in part—from firsthand, originally difficult, move to LA and from her cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her learn significant insights, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in Connecticut, Sennott started creating and acting comedy while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely fixated on motherhood; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned about her earlier will certainly be feeling foolish currently. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she has manifested an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded content called “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be tempting to create a series about online fame that was overly glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. The series does neither, making for a depiction of privileged twentysomething existence that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“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
