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Rachel Sennott enters the video call and immediately begins an explanation. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding truly regretful. Although she's only slightly late, she wants to clarify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what one hopes to encounter. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Those who know her fearlessly openly gay and brash project Bottoms—that Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and starred in with her friend Ayo Edebiri—will already know that she has plenty to say, ranging from about gender, intimacy, or the appeal of forming a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish the new multi-episode show titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she holds further insights about the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, she serves as a bridge to younger audiences, straddling eras adept for bridging both generations).

Influences and Artistic Direction

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges a fan, naming the show together with the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as influences for I Love LA, which details the journey of a social media star Tallulah and her friend and fledgling representative portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the biggest presence on creative vision went to Entourage, that show depicting an emerging A-list actor making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She started watching it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to put her own twist on it “targeting women and LGBTQ+ viewers”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The idea for I Love LA originated—to some extent—from her own, initially fractious, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a popular event for followers. This represented a time that involved her learn significant truths, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “In my mid-20s, I moved to LA and got settled. And then I felt like everything started to just fall apart. “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Humble Origins

Growing up in New England, Sennott started writing and performing stand-up while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “Despite trying every conventional route, I couldn’t find my footing,” she explains. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

Sennott decided to act independently, performing at amateur nights with Edebiri and posting uproarious (and decidedly) weird online content on the internet. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, followed a group of women obsessively drawn to motherhood; another portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as like being trapped in a thriller. Interestingly, she met Emma through campus film circles and ultimately starring in her first film, Shiva Baby, a stressful comedy set at a religious event with echoes of Uncut Gems. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, instead of the industry at large. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott previously will certainly be feeling foolish now. In what she describes as a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she has achieved the perfect project. Previously she uploaded a video named on LA life online, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with the co-writer) of a comedy about city dwellers managing advantages of online celebrity (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a intoxicated thief, and perhaps becoming a risky pariah). Some could simple to make a show about online fame that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, resulting in a portrait of affluent young adult existence that’s frank about the grot and the shine.

Empathetic Approach

“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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