Rachel Sennott on her uproarious show about that messy appeal of Gen Z life

The star appears on the online meeting and immediately launches into an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely remorseful. She is only slightly behind, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, in this context, this is precisely what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Anyone who know her unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass film titled Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with the director and starred in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—can understand that she has plenty to share, whether on gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth combat group. Plus, after watching the new eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds even more thoughts regarding the darker side of young adulthood (At 30, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, naming the show together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as influences for the project, which details the struggles of a social media star played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the most significant spot on creative vision belonged to the popular sitcom, that show depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a gritty Hollywood (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it amid lockdown, became “captivated”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she explains. The concept for this project originated—to some extent—from personal, originally difficult, move to Los Angeles and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that involved her understand significant truths, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in the East Coast, the star started developing and showcasing humor while pursuing acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “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. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at open mics with her friend and uploading hilarious (and very) weird comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively drawn to having babies; another envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she connected with Seligman through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. A recurring idea of her path, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, instead of the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Career Breakthrough

Those who questioned regarding Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. Through she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she has achieved an ideal role. In 2019 she shared content titled about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a risky persona non grata). It would be simple to create a program about online fame that was horribly idealized—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at the characters. I Love LA steers clear of each, resulting in a depiction of affluent millennial life that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.

Empathetic Approach

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

Susan French
Susan French

An experienced journalist with a passion for investigative reporting and a focus on Central European affairs.