Rachel Sennott on her uproarious series portraying that grotty glamour of Gen Z lifestyle
The star appears on the online meeting and at once starts an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, seeming really regretful. Despite being only a bit late, she feels compelled to explain. “I tend to talk too much during calls. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, during an interview, that’s just what you want to encounter. Besides, it’s quite predictable. Those who have seen her fearlessly openly gay and outspoken movie Bottoms—which Sennott collaborated on with her creative partner and appeared in together with collaborator The Bear’s standout—will understand that she possesses much to share, whether on gender, intimacy, or the merits of starting a teen brawl society. And, after watching her recent multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star holds additional thoughts about the challenges of modern youth (Now in her thirties, she is an honorary member of the gang, on the cusp adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Storytelling Approach
Likenesses to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges enthusiastic, referencing the show alongside the HBO hit, the acclaimed comedy and the innovative program as guides for the project, which follows the struggles of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the most significant spot on creative vision was reserved for the HBO series, the HBO sitcom depicting a rising Hollywood star making his way in a gritty entertainment industry (notable statement: “happiness eludes everyone but failures in this city”). Sennott started watching it amid the pandemic, became “hooked”, and chose to create a new version 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 notes. The idea for this project came—partly—from firsthand, at first fractious, relocation to LA and from her astrological phase, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a time that involved her learn some big truths, professionally and personally. “During my younger years, I was chaotic, often breaking down in public,” she admits. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Raised in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing humor while studying performance at a prestigious arts school. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” 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. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, performing at open mics with Ayo and posting uproarious (and very) unconventional comedy videos online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted several females obsessively fixated on pregnancy; a different one envisioned being employed at a trendy retail outlet as like being trapped in a scary movie. By chance, she encountered Seligman through campus film circles and eventually starring in her first film, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious comedy set at a religious event with shades of the intense thriller. The big theme of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries supporting her, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Not the gatekeepers”, she confirms, continuing amusedly: “They prefer we don’t succeed.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts regarding her then will surely be kicking themselves currently. As part of she labels a “incredibly circular” story, she appears to achieved her dream vehicle. A few years back she posted a video called about Los Angeles on social media, in which she parodied movie previews (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with Emma Barrie) of a series about LA residents managing the perks of online celebrity (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a intoxicated stealer, and possibly becoming a unreliable pariah). It would be easy to produce a show about internet celebrity that was extremely aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at the characters. This show avoids both, making for a depiction of privileged millennial life that’s honest about the grot and the shine.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she says. “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