Rachel Sennott on the uproarious series about that messy glamour of Gen Z existence

The performer joins the online meeting and at once launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming really remorseful. Despite being only a bit late, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is just what you want to experience. Besides, it’s fairly unsurprising. Those who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and brash project titled Bottoms—that she penned with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside her friend Ayo Edebiri—will be aware that she has plenty to discuss, whether on roles, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a high-school combat group. Plus, by the end her recent multi-episode show I Love LA, it is clear that she carries additional thoughts regarding the challenges of modern youth (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Guiding Lights and Creative Vision

Likenesses to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, naming it alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling talent manager Maia. Notably, the largest spot on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show focusing on an up-and-coming Hollywood star navigating in a corrupt Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 concept for I Love LA came—to some extent—from personal, initially fractious, move to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about event for followers. It was an era that included her grasp major insights, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she admits. “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

Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott commenced writing and performing comedy while enrolled in performance at NYU’s Tisch. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott seized control, performing at open mics with her friend and posting uproarious (and decidedly) weird online content online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely fixated on having babies; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as akin to being caught in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her path, she explains, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Individuals who had doubts about Sennott then will surely be regretting it currently. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded a video titled on LA life on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about city dwellers managing advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being labeled as being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable persona non grata). It would be easy to make a program about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, making for a portrait of affluent twentysomething existence that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.

Empathetic Approach

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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

Andrea Lopez
Andrea Lopez

Elara is a seasoned sports analyst with over a decade of experience in betting strategies and statistical modeling.