Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and at once launches into an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely apologetic. She is only slightly behind, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is exactly what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s pretty expected. Anyone familiar with the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and appeared in together with her friend the talented actress—will already know that she possesses much to discuss, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the merits of starting a youth fight club. And, once you finish her latest multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries further insights on the darker side of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott admits to being an admirer, naming the show in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as influences for her series, which follows the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the biggest spot on concept went to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and decided 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 notes. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from her own, initially difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for followers. That period marked a phase that saw her understand significant insights, professionally and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “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…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began writing and performing comedy while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she states. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, depicted characters intensely fixated on motherhood; a different one imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. Interestingly, she met Seligman through campus film circles and eventually starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Individuals who had doubts regarding her previously will certainly be kicking themselves currently. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” story, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a clip named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers balancing advantages of internet fame (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could simple to make a program about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, creating a representation of privileged millennial existence that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
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
