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Rachel Sennott enters the digital interview and immediately launches into an explanation. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she states, sounding really apologetic. She is only a bit late, she needs to clarify. “I tend to talk too much during calls. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s precisely what is ideal to experience. Additionally, it’s pretty expected. Those familiar with her unapologetically openly gay and brash project Bottoms—that she co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—can be aware that Sennott has a lot to share, whether on identity, relationships, or the merits of starting a teen brawl society. Furthermore, by the end the recent seasonal show titled I Love LA, it is clear that the star holds additional thoughts on the challenges of young adulthood (As a millennial, she represents a bridge to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling different age groups).

Influences and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and Sennott readily acknowledges a fan, referencing the show alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for the project, which tracks the struggles of an influencer Tallulah and ally and fledgling agent portrayed by Sennott. However, the largest presence on creative vision went to the HBO series, that show focusing on an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in a corrupt entertainment industry (memorable line: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott discovered it during the pandemic, became “obsessed”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for this project came—to some extent—from personal, originally fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from the cosmic event, a popular event for enthusiasts. This represented an era that saw her learn significant insights, work-wise and in private life. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she says. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Early Beginnings

Growing up in Connecticut, the star began writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in performance at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, performing at amateur nights with Ayo and uploading hilarious (and distinctly) unconventional comedy videos on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively obsessed with having babies; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as akin to being trapped in a thriller. In a neat twist of fate, she met Emma through NYU’s movie community and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she notes, has been people her own age supporting her, as opposed to the industry at large. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Not the gatekeepers”, she repeats, continuing with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Rising Success

Those who were skeptical about her earlier will surely be regretting it currently. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” story, she seems to have manifested the perfect project. A few years back she shared a video named “it’s LA” online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about city dwellers balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with drawbacks (your client being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and possibly becoming a risky pariah). Some could easy to produce a program about online fame that was extremely idealized—or, worse, one that belittled at the characters. I Love LA avoids both, making for a depiction of affluent young adult existence that’s candid about the chaos and the appeal.

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