Rachel Sennott exploring the uproarious series about that chaotic glamour of Gen Z life
The performer appears on the video call and at once launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely regretful. Despite being only a bit behind, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Thankfully, in this context, this is exactly what you want to hear. Moreover, it’s pretty expected. Those familiar with her fearlessly queer and brash movie titled Bottoms—that she collaborated on with the director and featured in alongside collaborator the talented actress—will be aware that she holds plenty to say, ranging from about roles, relationships, or the appeal of creating a high-school fight club. Plus, after watching her new eight-part show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries additional thoughts on the challenges of Gen Z life (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for bridging different age groups).
Inspirations and Creative Vision
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and Sennott readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing the show alongside the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which tracks the struggles of online personality Tallulah and her friend and fledgling representative Maia. However, the biggest presence on concept was reserved for the popular sitcom, that show focusing on a rising A-list actor succeeding in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “captivated”, and chose to create a new version 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 says. The idea for the series originated—partly—from personal, originally rocky, move to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for followers. It was a phase that included her grasp significant life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Brought up in Connecticut, the star commenced writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “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 live shows with her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) bizarre skits online. One, Baby Cult, followed a group of women fetishistically fixated on motherhood; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually appearing in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with shades of the Safdie brothers’ movie. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott previously will likely be regretting it currently. As part of she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she appears to created an ideal role. A few years back she uploaded a video titled “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of online celebrity (such as celebrating at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). One might easy to make a series about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at its subjects. This show does neither, resulting in a portrait of affluent young adult existence that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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