Rachel Sennott exploring the hilarious show depicting the grotty appeal of Gen Z existence
The performer joins the video call and at once starts an explanation. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she exclaims, appearing genuinely regretful. Despite being only a bit behind, she wants to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, for a writer, that’s exactly what you want to encounter. Additionally, it’s fairly expected. Viewers who know her boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which Sennott penned with the director and appeared in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would be aware that she holds a lot to share, ranging from about identity, sex, or the appeal of starting a youth brawl society. Furthermore, by the end the new eight-part show titled I Love LA, it is clear that she has even more insights about the challenges of young adulthood (At 30, Sennott is a relatable figure for this generation, straddling eras skilled for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to the iconic series Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being an admirer, referencing it alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for the project, which tracks the journey of an influencer Tallulah and ally who is also new representative Maia. Perhaps, the largest presence on creative vision went to the HBO series, the program depicting a rising A-list actor navigating in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott discovered it throughout lockdown, became “obsessed”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“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—in part—from her own, at first fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented a time that saw her understand major life lessons, in her career and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Early Beginnings
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott began developing and showcasing humor while pursuing 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 her friend and sharing hilarious (and very) weird online content online. One, titled Baby Cult, centered on a group of women obsessively drawn to pregnancy; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as akin to being trapped in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and eventually starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with hints of the intense thriller. The central motif of her career, she explains, has been peers supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who questioned regarding Sennott previously will surely be kicking themselves currently. In what she calls a “wild, full-circle” turn of events, she appears to created an ideal role. A few years back she shared content titled on LA life on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Years later, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents managing the perks of internet fame (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your associate being accused of being a drug-addled criminal, and potentially becoming a risky outcast). It would be simple to produce a program about internet celebrity that was extremely idealized—or, more problematic, one that punched down at its subjects. This show does neither, making for a representation of privileged millennial living that’s honest about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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