Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and right away begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding truly regretful. Although she's only slightly behind, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s precisely what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash film titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—can understand that she has much to share, whether on gender, sex, or the appeal of forming a high-school combat group. Plus, once you finish her new eight-part HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star carries even more perspectives about the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, she serves as an honorary member to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for connecting different age groups).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and Atlanta as guides for the project, which follows the journey of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest influence on concept was reserved for Entourage, that program about an emerging Hollywood star navigating in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it during 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 idea for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from her own, at first rocky, transition to LA and from the cosmic event, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a phase that saw her learn some big life lessons, work-wise and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Growing up in the East Coast, the star started developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and posting uproarious (and distinctly) bizarre skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females intensely drawn to having babies; a different one imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who were skeptical about Sennott then will likely be kicking themselves now. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she has created the perfect project. Previously she shared a clip named on LA life online, in which she lampooned film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with the co-writer) of a series about LA residents managing the perks of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). One might easy to make a show about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. This show does neither, making for a depiction of advantaged young adult life that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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
