The actress and writer on the uproarious comedy portraying the messy allure of Gen Z existence
Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, sounding truly remorseful. Despite being only slightly late, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, for a writer, that’s exactly what one hopes to experience. Besides, it’s pretty unsurprising. Those familiar with the boldly queer and brash project titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in with her friend The Bear’s standout—can understand that Sennott holds much to say, whether on identity, sex, or the merits of forming a teen fight club. Furthermore, after watching the new eight-part show titled I Love LA, viewers realize that she carries further thoughts regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being a fan, citing it together with Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as guides for her series, which tracks the journey of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and close companion and fledgling representative Sennott’s character. However, the most significant influence on the moodboard belonged to Entourage, that show depicting an emerging celebrity making his way in a corrupt LA scene (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it throughout lockdown, became “captivated”, and decided to put her own twist 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 idea for the series came—in part—from personal, initially fractious, relocation to LA and from the astrological phase, a much-talked-about event for astrology heads. It was an era that involved her learn significant insights, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “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 …”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting comedy while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “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. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at live shows with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and very) bizarre skits online. One, Baby Cult, followed several females obsessively drawn to having babies; a different one portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being caught in a scary movie. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through NYU’s movie community and ultimately starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a funeral gathering with echoes of the intense thriller. The big theme of her career, she says, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Career Breakthrough
Those who had doubts regarding her previously will certainly be kicking themselves now. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she appears to created an ideal role. A few years back she shared a clip named about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a show about city dwellers juggling advantages of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being suspected of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable outcast). One might tempting to create a show about internet celebrity that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that mocked at its subjects. This show steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged millennial existence that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.
Balanced Perspective
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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