Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming truly remorseful. Despite being only a couple of minutes late, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Fortunately, in this context, this is just what you want to hear. Additionally, it’s quite expected. Viewers familiar with the boldly openly gay and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that Sennott possesses much to say, ranging from about identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish her latest eight-part HBO series I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds further thoughts on the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she serves as an honorary member for this generation, straddling eras adept for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, citing the show together with Sex and the City, Insecure and the innovative program as inspirations for her series, which follows the travails of online personality Tallulah and ally and aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant presence on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising A-list actor navigating in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The concept for the series emerged—partly—from personal, initially fractious, move to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a time that included her learn significant truths, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “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…”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, the star started writing and performing comedy while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hilarious (and very) weird comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely drawn to motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her path, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Rising Success
Individuals who had doubts about her then will surely be feeling foolish today. As part of she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to created an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded content called on LA life online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a series about LA residents managing advantages of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be easy to make a series about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a portrait of advantaged young adult living that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“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
