Rachel Sennott joins the video call and immediately begins an apology. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, sounding genuinely remorseful. Although she's only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, this is just what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Those who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which she penned with her creative partner and starred in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she possesses much to say, be it on identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a youth brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish her recent eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more thoughts regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she represents a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras skilled for connecting both generations).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and Sennott admits to being an admirer, citing it in addition to Sex and the City, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new representative Maia. Perhaps, the biggest influence on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, that HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in a corrupt LA scene (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and decided to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The idea for I Love LA emerged—partly—from firsthand, at first rocky, move to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for enthusiasts. It was a time that saw her learn some big insights, professionally 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…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she states. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She seized control, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and uploading hilarious (and very) bizarre skits on the internet. One, titled Baby Cult, followed characters intensely fixated on having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she connected with Emma through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her path, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who were skeptical about Sennott previously will certainly be kicking themselves currently. Through she labels a “wild, full-circle” development, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. In 2019 she uploaded content called “it’s LA” on social media, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents juggling the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be easy to make a series about digital influence that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA avoids both, creating a portrait of advantaged millennial life that’s candid about the grot and the shine.
Balanced Perspective
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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
