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Rachel Sennott enters the video call and right away starts an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, seeming truly remorseful. Despite being only slightly behind, she needs to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what is ideal to encounter. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Those who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass project titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with her creative partner and starred in with collaborator the talented actress—will be aware that she has plenty to discuss, whether about roles, intimacy, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. Plus, once you finish the new multi-episode program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries additional insights on the challenges of modern youth (At 30, she is a bridge of the gang, on the cusp with a knack for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Storytelling Approach

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being a fan, citing the show in addition to Sex and the City, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which follows the journey of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend who is also fledgling talent manager portrayed by Sennott. However, the most significant spot on the moodboard went to the popular sitcom, the program depicting a rising celebrity making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout COVID-19, became “hooked”, and resolved 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 says. The inspiration for the series emerged—in part—from personal, at first fractious, relocation to Tinseltown and from her saturn return, a much-talked-about occurrence for astrology heads. It was a phase that included her learn major life lessons, in her career and individually. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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

Raised in the East Coast, the star started developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in performance at a prestigious arts school. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

Sennott seized control, appearing at live shows with her friend and uploading hysterical (and distinctly) weird online content online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically obsessed with pregnancy; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she met Emma through campus film circles and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a funeral gathering with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she says, has been peers supporting her, instead of traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Rising Success

Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott previously will likely be kicking themselves now. As part of she describes as a “wild, full-circle” story, she has achieved an ideal role. Previously she shared content titled on LA life on the internet, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). One might simple to make a program about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at those depicted. The series avoids both, resulting in a depiction of affluent millennial existence that’s candid about the mess and the glamour.

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