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Rachel Sennott appears on the online meeting and at once starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, sounding genuinely regretful. She is only a couple of minutes late, she needs to clarify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, this is just what one hopes to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers familiar with the unapologetically queer and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and starred in alongside her friend The Bear’s standout—will understand that she possesses a lot to share, be it on identity, intimacy, or the pros of starting a youth brawl society. Plus, by the end the new eight-part show I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds additional perspectives regarding the struggles of young adulthood (Now in her thirties, Sennott represents a bridge of the gang, on the cusp adept for connecting both generations).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, citing the show alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for I Love LA, which tracks the journey of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also aspiring talent manager Maia. However, the biggest spot on concept went to the popular sitcom, the show focusing on a rising celebrity succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott started watching it throughout COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and chose to create a new version on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she explains. The concept for I Love LA emerged—to some extent—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. It was a phase that involved her grasp significant life lessons, in her career and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Humble Origins

Growing up in New England, Sennott began developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in acting at a prestigious arts school. “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. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott decided to act independently, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and distinctly) bizarre skits digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Seligman through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Anyone who questioned about Sennott earlier will surely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she shared content named on LA life online, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a comedy about LA residents juggling the perks of digital stardom (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). One might easy to produce a program about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that punched down at those depicted. The series does neither, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething existence that’s candid about the chaos and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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