Rachel Sennott on the hilarious comedy depicting the messy appeal of today's youth lifestyle

Rachel Sennott enters the video call and right away starts an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming really regretful. Despite being only slightly delayed, she wants to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s just what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Anyone who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken film titled Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and starred in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will be aware that Sennott holds plenty to say, ranging from on roles, relationships, or the merits of creating a teen brawl society. And, by the end the recent seasonal program I Love LA, viewers realize that she has additional insights regarding the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott represents a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp adept for bridging millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being a fan, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and Donald Glover’s series as guides for I Love LA, which follows the travails of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also new representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant spot on concept belonged to Entourage, that HBO sitcom depicting a rising Hollywood star making his way in a corrupt LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective 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 inspiration for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from her own, initially fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed event for enthusiasts. That period marked an era that saw her learn some big insights, in her career and individually. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Humble Origins

Growing up in Connecticut, Sennott began developing and showcasing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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 decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and posting hilarious (and distinctly) weird skits on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, centered on characters intensely obsessed with pregnancy; another imagined working at the brand Hollister as similar to being trapped in a horror film. Interestingly, she connected with Seligman through NYU’s movie community and eventually appearing in her initial project, Shiva Baby, a tense dramedy set at a religious event with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries giving her a shot, rather than traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, continuing with a laugh: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”

Rising Success

Those who questioned about her earlier will certainly be regretting it today. In what she calls a “incredibly circular” turn of events, she has created an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded content named on LA life online, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a series about LA residents balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your associate being accused of being a substance-abusing thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). Some could tempting to produce a program about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. The series avoids both, resulting in a representation of affluent millennial living that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.

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 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