Rachel Sennott discussing the hilarious comedy portraying the messy allure of Gen Z life
The star enters the digital interview and immediately begins an apology. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, seeming genuinely regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes behind, she needs to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s exactly what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone who know the unapologetically queer and brash film titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and featured in together with her friend the talented actress—will understand that Sennott has plenty to say, be it on roles, sex, or the pros of creating a youth brawl society. And, once you finish her recent eight-part show I Love LA, it is clear that the star has further insights about the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, she is a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial skilled for connecting both generations).
Influences and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress is an admirer, citing the show together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as influences for the project, which follows the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion who is also new agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest presence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that HBO sitcom depicting a rising celebrity navigating in a gritty Hollywood (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it throughout COVID-19, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—in part—from her own, initially difficult, move to LA and from the saturn return, a much-talked-about event for enthusiasts. It was an era that involved her learn major insights, professionally and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, the star started writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”
Sennott seized control, appearing at open mics with her friend and sharing hysterical (and very) unconventional skits digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters intensely drawn to having babies; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being stuck in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The big theme of her journey, she says, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts about her previously will surely be regretting it today. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she seems to have created an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a video named about Los Angeles online, in which she mocked movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing benefits of internet fame (such as partying at Elijah Wood’s house) with downsides (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing thief, and potentially becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might simple to create a show about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, creating a depiction of affluent twentysomething living that’s candid about the grot and the glamour.
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 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