Rachel Sennott discussing her uproarious comedy depicting that grotty allure of today's youth existence
The star enters the digital interview and at once begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she exclaims, seeming truly regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she needs to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, for a writer, that’s just what is ideal to encounter. Additionally, it’s pretty unsurprising. Viewers who have seen the boldly LGBTQ+ and unapologetically crass film Bottoms—which she collaborated on with the director and featured in together with collaborator Ayo Edebiri—would already know that she possesses a lot to say, be it about roles, intimacy, or the pros of creating a high-school brawl society. Plus, once you finish her new multi-episode show I Love LA, it is clear that she carries even more thoughts on the challenges of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as a bridge for this generation, a tale-end millennial adept for connecting different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
The comparisons to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and the actress admits to being an admirer, citing the show together with the classic series, the acclaimed comedy and Donald Glover’s series as guides for the project, which details the journey of an influencer Tallulah and close companion who is also fledgling agent Sennott’s character. Notably, the largest influence on creative vision was reserved for Entourage, the program depicting an up-and-coming A-list actor making his way in a gritty Hollywood (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it amid the pandemic, became “obsessed”, 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 concept for the series originated—to some extent—from personal, originally difficult, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a popular phenomenon for astrology heads. It was a time that included her grasp major life lessons, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” 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…”
Early Beginnings
Raised in New England, Sennott started developing and showcasing comedy while pursuing acting at a prestigious arts school. “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?”
She decided to act independently, taking the stage at live shows with her friend and posting uproarious (and distinctly) weird comedy videos on the internet. One, Baby Cult, centered on several females obsessively obsessed with having babies; another portrayed being employed at the brand Hollister as similar to being caught in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her first film, Shiva Baby, an anxious film set at a religious event with shades of Uncut Gems. A recurring idea of her path, she notes, has been contemporaries supporting her, rather than established gatekeepers. So the old guard wasn’t helpful? “Not the gatekeepers”, she emphasizes, stating humorously: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who questioned regarding Sennott previously will likely be kicking themselves today. In what she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she has created an ideal role. In 2019 she uploaded a video called on LA life on social media, in which she mocked film promos (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Six years on, she’s the co-showrunner (with the co-writer) of a series about city dwellers balancing advantages of online celebrity (such as socializing at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated criminal, and possibly becoming a risky outcast). One might easy to produce a show about internet celebrity that was horribly idealized—or, worse, one that mocked at the characters. The series does neither, creating a portrait of privileged twentysomething existence that’s frank about the grot and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“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