The actress and writer exploring the uproarious show depicting that grotty glamour of Gen Z lifestyle
Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she says, appearing really remorseful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Fortunately, in this context, this is exactly what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s quite expected. Anyone who have seen her fearlessly LGBTQ+ and brash movie Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in with close companion Ayo Edebiri—will already know that Sennott holds a lot to discuss, be it about gender, sex, or the pros of creating a youth combat group. Furthermore, after watching the latest eight-part show titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star has even more perspectives regarding the darker side of modern youth (As a millennial, she serves as a relatable figure for this generation, on the cusp with a knack for bridging both generations).
Guiding Lights and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott is an admirer, citing the show together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for her series, which tracks the travails of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and aspiring talent manager Maia. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in a corrupt Hollywood (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 says. The inspiration for this project came—to some extent—from her own, originally rocky, relocation to Tinseltown and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. That period marked a time that included her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and individually. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, the star commenced developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing performance at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Ayo and sharing hilarious (and decidedly) bizarre online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females intensely drawn to pregnancy; another portrayed being employed at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being caught in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been peers supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, adding with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding her earlier will certainly be kicking themselves currently. In what she labels a “astonishingly complete” story, she seems to have created an ideal role. Previously she uploaded a video named “it’s LA” online, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about Angelenos managing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a drug-addled thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable outcast). One might simple to produce a show about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, making for a representation of affluent young adult living that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.
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
