Rachel Sennott exploring the side-splitting comedy depicting the chaotic allure of Gen Z life
The star enters the video call and at once begins an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she exclaims, appearing truly apologetic. Despite being only a couple of minutes behind, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Fortunately, during an interview, this is exactly what is ideal to hear. Additionally, it’s quite unsurprising. Anyone who have seen the boldly LGBTQ+ and outspoken movie titled Bottoms—which she collaborated on with her creative partner and featured in alongside close companion The Bear’s standout—can already know that she holds plenty to share, whether about roles, relationships, or the pros of creating a high-school combat group. Plus, once you finish her latest seasonal HBO series I Love LA, viewers realize that she holds further thoughts on the struggles of Gen Z life (As a millennial, Sennott serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp with a knack for connecting millennials and Gen Z).
Inspirations and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, Insecure and Donald Glover’s series as inspirations for the project, which follows the travails of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring talent manager Sennott’s character. Perhaps, the largest influence on the moodboard went to the HBO series, that show about an up-and-coming A-list actor succeeding in an often-seedy Hollywood (choice quote: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to put her own twist on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for the series originated—in part—from her own, at first difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a popular event for followers. It was a phase that included her understand major life lessons, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”
Humble Origins
Brought up in New England, Sennott commenced creating and acting comedy while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” I tried out for all the NYU plays and didn’t make it into any of them. “I wondered why I was even there at all.”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Ayo and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional online content digitally. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women fetishistically fixated on motherhood; a different one imagined working at the brand Hollister as like being stuck in a horror film. By chance, she encountered Emma through the university’s film scene and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful dramedy set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, as opposed to traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, continuing amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Rising Success
Anyone who questioned regarding her then will likely be feeling foolish today. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to created an ideal role. Previously she posted content named “it’s LA” on the internet, in which she parodied film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). Some could easy to produce a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, even less favorable, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA avoids both, resulting in a representation of privileged young adult life that’s candid about the grot and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” 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