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Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, sounding genuinely regretful. Although she's only a couple of minutes delayed, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Those who know her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass movie Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in alongside collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would understand that Sennott possesses plenty to share, whether about gender, sex, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. And, by the end the recent eight-part show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional insights about the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for straddling different age groups).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show are inevitable and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, referencing it in addition to the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for I Love LA, which details the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. However, the most significant presence on the moodboard belonged to the popular sitcom, that show about an up-and-coming Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she notes. The inspiration for I Love LA emerged—partly—from personal, originally difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a popular occurrence for astrology heads. This represented an era that saw her grasp major truths, 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 was almost like these biblical tests …”

Humble Origins

Raised in New England, the star started developing and showcasing humor while pursuing performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she states. “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.”

Sennott seized control, taking the stage at live shows with Ayo and sharing uproarious (and very) weird comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, Baby Cult, centered on several females fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with echoes of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, adding amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Career Breakthrough

Anyone who were skeptical about her then will surely be regretting it today. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” development, she has created the perfect project. In 2019 she shared content called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she lampooned movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers balancing advantages of digital stardom (such as socializing at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a intoxicated criminal, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). Some could easy to produce a series about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. The series avoids both, creating a portrait of affluent millennial living that’s honest about the mess and the glamour.

Balanced Perspective

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” 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