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Rachel Sennott appears on the digital interview and immediately begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, appearing genuinely remorseful. Although she's only slightly behind, she wants to explain. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what is ideal to experience. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Those who know the unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with the director and featured in with collaborator The Bear’s standout—would understand that she possesses plenty to say, be it about roles, intimacy, or the appeal of starting a youth fight club. And, after watching her recent multi-episode program I Love LA, it is clear that she holds further insights regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure to younger audiences, a tale-end millennial skilled for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Influences and Creative Vision

The comparisons to Lena Dunham’s Girls are inevitable and the actress admits to being enthusiastic, referencing it alongside the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for the project, which follows the travails of an influencer played by Odessa A’Zion and her friend and fledgling talent manager Sennott’s character. However, the most significant influence on creative vision went to the popular sitcom, that HBO sitcom about a rising celebrity making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (choice quote: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). She discovered it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and decided to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The inspiration for the series originated—to some extent—from personal, at first difficult, transition to Los Angeles and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for enthusiasts. This represented a phase that saw her learn some big truths, in her career and in private life. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”

Starting Out

Growing up in New England, the star began writing and performing humor 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 explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. 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.”

Sennott seized control, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and uploading hysterical (and decidedly) bizarre comedy videos online. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters obsessively drawn to motherhood; a different one envisioned working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with echoes of the Safdie brothers’ movie. A recurring idea of her career, she explains, has been people her own age supporting her, rather than traditional networks. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, stating with a laugh: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”

Career Breakthrough

Individuals who had doubts about her earlier will surely be feeling foolish currently. Through she calls a “wild, full-circle” story, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. In 2019 she uploaded a clip named “it’s LA” online, in which she parodied film promos (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Now, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a comedy about city dwellers juggling benefits of internet fame (such as partying at a celebrity’s house) with drawbacks (your friend being accused of being a substance-abusing criminal, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). One might tempting to make a show about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that mocked at its subjects. I Love LA does neither, making for a portrait of advantaged twentysomething living 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