Rachel Sennott on her uproarious comedy about that messy allure of younger generation life
Rachel Sennott enters the online meeting and right away starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding really regretful. She is only a bit delayed, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Viewers who have seen the unapologetically openly gay and brash project titled Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with the director and featured in with close companion the talented actress—will already know that Sennott has much to say, whether about gender, sex, or the pros of starting a teen brawl society. Plus, once you finish the new eight-part program titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star carries additional thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she represents a bridge of the gang, straddling eras adept for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and Sennott is a fan, naming the show together with the HBO hit, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which follows the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also new representative portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest influence on concept went to Entourage, that show depicting a rising A-list actor succeeding in a gritty LA scene (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she notes. The inspiration for this project emerged—in part—from her own, initially difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed event for followers. This represented a time that saw her understand some big 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. “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 New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting stand-up while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott seized control, appearing at open mics with her friend and uploading uproarious (and distinctly) unconventional online content digitally. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively obsessed with motherhood; a different one portrayed working at the brand Hollister as akin to being trapped in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately appearing in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who questioned regarding her previously will likely be feeling foolish now. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” development, she appears to created an ideal role. Previously she shared a clip named about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers managing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). It would be easy to make a series about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that punched down at those depicted. The series does neither, creating a depiction of affluent millennial existence that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she observes. “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