Rachel Sennott on the hilarious comedy portraying the grotty appeal of today's youth life

The star appears on the digital interview and at once launches into an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding truly remorseful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled 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!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what one hopes to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly predictable. Those who know her boldly queer and brash movie titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that she has much to share, be it about roles, sex, or the appeal of starting a high-school fight club. And, once you finish the new multi-episode HBO series I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries additional perspectives about the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring agent Maia. Notably, the biggest spot on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, the program focusing on a rising Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She started watching it during COVID-19, became “captivated”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she says. The inspiration for I Love LA came—partly—from her own, initially difficult, transition to LA and from the astrological phase, a popular occurrence for enthusiasts. That period marked a phase that involved her learn significant insights, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” 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 Connecticut, the star began developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in performance 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. 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 Ayo and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women intensely obsessed with motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her career, she says, has been people her own age offering opportunities, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who had doubts regarding Sennott then will certainly be feeling foolish currently. Through she calls a “astonishingly complete” development, she has manifested her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted content named on LA life online, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being suspected of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). It would be simple to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at the characters. The series steers clear of each, making for a portrait of advantaged young adult life that’s frank about the grot and the glamour.

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

Deborah Lopez
Deborah Lopez

Award-winning video editor with 10+ years in digital media, passionate about teaching creative techniques to aspiring filmmakers.