Rachel Sennott exploring her side-splitting comedy about the messy appeal of younger generation existence
The star enters the video call and immediately starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding truly apologetic. She is only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, this is precisely what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Anyone who have seen the boldly queer and brash film Bottoms—which Sennott penned with her creative partner and appeared in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will understand that she possesses a lot to say, whether about gender, sex, or the merits of creating a youth combat group. Furthermore, by the end her latest seasonal show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star has additional insights regarding the darker side of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, she is an honorary member for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for straddling both generations).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, naming the show in addition to the HBO hit, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for the project, which tracks the travails of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also aspiring agent Sennott’s character. However, the largest presence on concept went to Entourage, the HBO sitcom about a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from her own, initially fractious, transition to Los Angeles and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that saw her learn significant truths, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Starting Out
Raised in the East Coast, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Edebiri and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted a group of women obsessively obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a Jewish wake with echoes of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her career, she notes, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about her then will likely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she has created her dream vehicle. In 2019 she shared a video named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents juggling advantages of internet fame (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being accused of being a drug-addled stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could simple to produce a show about digital influence that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that mocked at those depicted. The series avoids both, creating a representation of privileged millennial life that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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