Rachel Sennott exploring the uproarious show portraying the chaotic appeal of Gen Z existence
The star enters the video call and at once starts an excuse. “I can’t believe I’m late!” she says, seeming really remorseful. She is only a bit behind, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Earlier calls made me late—I just can’t stop chatting!” Thankfully, in this context, this is precisely what you want to experience. Moreover, it’s fairly expected. Anyone familiar with her unapologetically openly gay and brash film titled Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with the director and starred in together with her friend the talented actress—would be aware that she possesses much to say, ranging from about identity, intimacy, or the pros of forming a high-school brawl society. Furthermore, once you finish the recent seasonal show I Love LA, it becomes obvious that the star carries even more thoughts regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, she serves as an honorary member of the gang, a tale-end millennial skilled for bridging different age groups).
Influences and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show can’t be avoided and the actress is an admirer, referencing it together with the classic series, Issa Rae’s show and Atlanta as inspirations for I Love LA, which tracks the travails of an influencer Tallulah and her friend and fledgling agent Maia. Notably, the biggest presence on concept belonged to the popular sitcom, that program depicting an emerging A-list actor navigating in a gritty LA scene (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during lockdown, became “hooked”, and resolved to create a new version on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I wanted to make a show where the internet, not Hollywood, was the industry, because my career started online,” she explains. The concept for the series originated—in part—from firsthand, initially fractious, transition to LA and from her astrological phase, a much-talked-about occurrence for followers. It was an era that saw her grasp major truths, in her career and personally. “In my early 20s I was so messy, crying in public everywhere, all the time,” she says. “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…”
Starting Out
Brought up in New England, Sennott started writing and performing comedy while studying theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she explains. “Every campus humor group turned me down after tryouts.” “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
Sennott took matters into her own hands, appearing at live shows with Ayo and sharing hysterical (and very) bizarre skits online. A particular video, titled Baby Cult, depicted a group of women intensely drawn to motherhood; a different one envisioned working at the brand Hollister as akin to being stuck in a horror film. In a neat twist of fate, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ultimately featuring in her directorial debut, Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a religious event with hints 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. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “They were not involved”, she emphasizes, adding amusedly: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Anyone who had doubts about her previously will certainly be feeling foolish currently. Through she describes as a “astonishingly complete” story, she has achieved her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content named about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she mocked movie previews (“I’m addicted to drugs – we all are”). Six years on, she’s executive producer (with her partner) of a show about LA residents balancing the perks of digital stardom (such as celebrating at a celebrity’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being labeled as being a drug-addled criminal, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” outcast). Some could easy to make a series about internet celebrity that was extremely glamorous—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, resulting in a portrait of privileged twentysomething life that’s honest about the chaos and the glamour.
Empathetic Approach
“Numerous series present younger generations and digital culture in a derogatory manner,” 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