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Rachel Sennott enters the video call and at once begins an excuse. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, sounding truly regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Moreover, it’s quite predictable. Those who know her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and outspoken film Bottoms—that she collaborated on with Emma Seligman and featured in together with close companion The Bear’s standout—will be aware that she has a lot to say, be it on roles, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen combat group. Furthermore, by the end her recent seasonal program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries additional thoughts about the struggles of young adulthood (As a millennial, Sennott is a relatable figure to younger audiences, on the cusp skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Storytelling Approach

Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls can’t be avoided and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, naming it together with the HBO hit, Insecure and the innovative program as influences for the project, which details the journey of a social media star Tallulah and her friend who is also fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest presence on the moodboard was reserved for the popular sitcom, the HBO sitcom depicting an emerging Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy LA scene (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during COVID-19, became “obsessed”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she says. The concept for the series originated—in part—from her own, at first rocky, move to LA and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for astrology heads. This represented an era that involved her understand significant truths, in her career and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “After relocating to Los Angeles in my mid-twenties, I found stability, only for things to crumble. It was almost like these biblical tests …”

Early Beginnings

Brought up in Connecticut, the star began developing and showcasing stand-up while pursuing theatre at a prestigious arts school. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”

She seized control, performing at open mics with Edebiri and uploading uproarious (and decidedly) weird comedy videos digitally. One, titled Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on having babies; a different one envisioned working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she connected with Emma through NYU’s movie community and eventually featuring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, a tense film set at a Jewish wake with hints of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her path, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she repeats, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Manifesting Dreams

Those who had doubts regarding Sennott earlier will surely be feeling foolish now. In what she describes as a “incredibly circular” development, she has manifested an ideal role. In 2019 she posted a video titled on LA life online, in which she mocked Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s a lead creator (with her partner) of a series about LA residents juggling the perks of internet fame (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with downsides (your client being accused of being a intoxicated stealer, and possibly becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). It would be simple to create a show about digital influence that was horribly glamorous—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. I Love LA does neither, making for a representation of privileged twentysomething life that’s candid about the chaos and the glamour.

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