Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and immediately launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing really remorseful. She is only a couple of minutes behind, she wants to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash film Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and appeared in together with her friend The Bear’s standout—would already know that Sennott possesses plenty to share, be it on identity, relationships, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. And, after watching her new eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries further thoughts about the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras with a knack for straddling both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing it together with the classic series, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also new representative Maia. Notably, the most significant influence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom about an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in an often-seedy entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it amid COVID-19, became “captivated”, and chose to put her own twist 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 notes. The concept for this project originated—in part—from firsthand, initially rocky, move to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a popular event for followers. It was a time that included her learn major insights, in her career 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 …”
Humble Origins
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott started developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, taking the stage at live shows with Edebiri and uploading hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos digitally. One, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically drawn to pregnancy; another portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she says, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Rising Success
Anyone who had doubts about her earlier will likely be kicking themselves currently. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has created her dream vehicle. Previously she uploaded a video titled “it’s LA” on social media, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about Angelenos juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). It would be simple to produce a program about online fame that was extremely aspirational—or, worse, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of advantaged millennial life that’s honest about the grot 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 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
